Kirby's Insane Journey to End the DWAM's Abuse!
by ClaudeLv250
Summary: When a man of questionable sanity finds a dimensional machine that can alter their universe, the Smash Bros must work with an outsider to set things right again. ::Minor Crossover::
1. Chapter 1: The DWA Machine

**Welcome! And don't be intimidated by the ridiculous title!**

It's back! The fourth installment in my Kirby's Insane Journey comedy/adventure series. There's going to be a lot of changes. One of the most noticeable ones will be the change in format. The previous 3 stories were written in a Play/script format (I was young and inexperienced...) while this one will be written in the more common prose format. I'm experimenting with this so if I don't like the way it turns out for KIJ4, I'll have to figure out something that works for the next sequel (yes, there is going to be another sequel).

Also, I'll be joining the cast! That's right, a self-insert. I know, some people are rolling their eyes, but I'm working hard to avoid a Gary Stu. This incarnation of myself, which I like to call "Claude the Author," will be as true of an insert as I can get...personality-wise, of course. I don't exactly own weapons from the future and can't create shockwaves with a sword (not that I have a sword to begin with). So, no single-handed PWNing of Bowser's army, no chewing out characters with no repercussions, and most importantly, no canon characters attempting to sex me up...at least, none of any of that yet ;)

And you'll find out what the Digital World Animator (DWA Machine is soon enough! If you haven't read the previous 3 stories, you still can. They can be reached through links in my bio, since 2 of them have been removed from FFdotnet, though this story isn't very dependant on the storylines of the previous ones. It's starting a new arc in this series after all.

**Feedback is appreciated.** I'm no review whore, but I'd like to know what people think of the story, and I'm not perfect so I may need help correcting mistakes by readers. I've been getting the hits for this story, but not the reviews, so I have no idea what the people reading it think about it! After all, this is my first direct insert. I'd like to know how it's turning out!

Now...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Super Smash Brothers or anything else Nintendo-owned, as it is owned by Nintendo after all. Original characters (such as Iris or Shyla) are owned by me unless otherwise specified, so ask before you use! And I don't claim the rights to any other real live people that show up in this story, even though they're fictionalized accounts. I'm not sure if you could anyway.

Enough with the pre-story dribble. On with the fiction!

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**Kirby's Insane Journey to End the DWA Machine's Abuse**

_By ClaudeLv250_

**Chapter 1:**_The Digital World Animator Machine_

The sun shined down brightly on the colorful, wonderful, and in some people's opinions, too happy land of Dreamland. The rays of light penetrated the windows of a dome shaped house. The owner of the house stirred slowly from his slumber as the light persuaded his consciousness to reluctantly return.

It had been a year since the many worlds of Nintendo were under the threat of a quick alliance between Bowser, Ganondorf, and Mewtwo. The point of it all? Two secret artifacts known as the Amulet of Light and the Amulet of Darkness. These amulets granted immense power to anyone that wielded them, granted that they were of the right nature. Heroes would take up the Light Amulet, while villains thrived off the power of the Dark Amulet. Anyone that touched an amulet of the wrong nature would meet one of many strange fates...and unfortunately, one puffball had done such a thing.

Kirby blinked at his clock. It was past 8. Actually, it was going on 9 o' clock. Then something clicked in his mind. Today was the day! The day of the Grand Opening of the latest Nintendo World store! Kirby sat up in his bed and pressed a button on a nearby remote, causing his television to blare to life. A few more button presses and the television settled on the Nintendoverse's own coverage of the event on Earth through video footage.

If Kirby had dwelled on the thought of the planet Earth, he would have seen it as pretty intangible. What he didn't realize was that Earth and the Nintendoverse would be connected today in a way he never imagined, and that the planet just might be tangible after all...

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A crowd had formed on the outside of the new Nintendo World Store. Cameras flashed as eager and curious faces peered through the glass. However, only 20 lucky souls had been allowed inside, all part of a writing contest. These few finalists all submitted their work – Nintendo fiction – in hopes of winning an unknown prize. That prize was bound to satisfy, but even if it didn't, each finalist was invited to spend the first hour enjoying what the store had to offer. Games, consoles, handhelds...they all lined the shelves, and the stairs to the second floor promised even more with kiosks packed full of past, present, and future games. And it would be all theirs before the swarm of people outside were allowed in. Even better, they were promised to walk away with free Nintendo merchandise.

But that didn't matter right now. Everyone's attention was focused on the man standing in front of the group: Shigeru Miyamoto. His visits to the U.S. were infrequent, but today's was highly appropriate. But the man hadn't spoken a lick the entire event, and despite being the center of attention, was not the one at the podium speaking to the crowd. Actually, no one knew who exactly who the heck the guy speaking was, and he looked quite silly with his spotted bowtie and glasses, as well as his messily put together tuxedo. Everyone else, including Miyamoto, wore casual clothing.

The spectacled man had been giving a speech for the past twenty minutes, most of it not even relevant to the contest...he dwelled on the history of the company, and how big of a deal it was to personally connect with the community of fans it had. No one really payed any attention or bought anything the man was saying – even Miyamoto wore a dull, almost spaced-out look on his face. Most of the finalists had zoned out, pondering the grand prize. The rumors about the prize went from underwhelming to ridiculous.

A clearing of the throat brought everyone's attention back to the man at the podium. His lengthy speech was over and he announced that it was time to reveal the winner of the contest. Of course, he did this with a goofy, toothy grin.

One person in the group cringed at the smile. The man had quite clearly shown the large gap between his teeth, which made his appearance even more bizarre. '_He really shouldn't smile like that..._' he thought to himself.

Surprisingly, it was Miyamoto that handed the man the paper with the name of the lucky writer that would win a prize beyond imagination. The spectacled man read the paper and paused, to give a dramatic effect. Once he realized that his audience was annoyed with him, he proceeded to speak.

"...is there a Claude here...?"

There was silence, for Claude himself was stunned with this revelation. When no one answered, the man asked once again.

"...Claude? Come up to the front if you're here."

Finally regaining sense, Claude scrambled from his chair and towards the front. There was some applauding from the group, but there were also jealous glares of death-bringing, one in particular that was quite unsettling. Claude realized that he still didn't know what the prize was, and when he started to ask, a ruckus had already started. Chairs were thrown about and the young writers had retreated into corners of the store to avoid the rampaging teen responsible.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" He screamed, nostrils flaring like a bull. Another chair was tossed.

"SECURITY!" the spectacled man cried out, hiding behind the podium in anticipation of a flying chair. Two burly men grabbed the screaming teenager and dragged him towards the store's exit.

"I've read all of your stories and none of them were as good as **mine**! I should have won...!" He continued ranting long after being tossed out of the store, bringing attention to himself from the crowd outside.

Claude rolled his eyes, thinking, '_He doesn't even know what the prize is and he's already screaming about how he deserves it._' With little warning, he was quickly told to follow Miyamoto to his prize, which waited near the back of the store.

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Kirby stepped out of his house for some fresh air once the coverage on the Nintendo World Store had ended. The winner was announced and some kid made a fool of himself, getting thrown out of the store as a result. But that seemed to be distant now as Kirby strolled aimlessly about, waving to the occasional friendly face he'd see. You could also say that he was patrolling. He _was_ the protector of Dreamland, and often the entire planet of Popstar depended on him in dire situations; in some rare cases, the entire star system.

There was a low humming in the background. Kirby frowned when he realized what it was. A blue object had appeared from over the horizon and headed in his direction. It was the Blue Falcon, restored to its natural color. The car stopped near Kirby, not before shredding through a few trees in the process, and Captain Falcon hopped out to greet him. Kirby could only wonder who gave this man the legal right to drive a car, let alone how he managed to win an F-Zero Grand Prix with such driving skills.

"Hey Kirby!" he called out, waving to his pink comrade.

"Hi Falcon," Kirby said with a false cheery tone. Captain Falcon had a talent for getting on his bad side, and he didn't doubt that it would happen again today.

"Why are you here?" he asked Falcon, hoping to get a decent response.

"Oh, I was just...around," Falcon replied, his eyes becoming distant.

"Around?" Kirby repeated, slightly annoyed.

"You know, in the neighborhood," Falcon explained.

"I know what it means," Kirby muttered. This was going no where fast, so he decided to strike up a subject of his own. "I see the Blue Falcon is blue again...er, Bluer Falcon."

"It's just Blue Falcon again," Falcon said. "I replaced the green paint job with another blue one when Samus sat me down and explained to me how stupid calling a green car 'Bluer' was," he enlightened his pink friend. "I wish somebody would have told me sooner."

Kirby raised a brow and folded his flaps-for-arms over his chest, "I'm sure someone did..."

There was a short silence as neither exchanged a word. Then Captain Falcon's face lit up.

"I know what other reason I came here for!" he shouted excitedly. "Fox and Iris had their baby!"

Kirby rolled his eyes, "I knew that when it happened a few months ago."

"Oh..." Falcon said, shoulders sagging. But then his face lit up again when another thought struck his mind, something rare within itself. "Wanna go see the baby?"

Kirby was caught off guard by this. Falcon having an idea he might go with was definitely a rare occasion. He _hadn't_ seen the baby yet, not even pictures. A visit sounded good to him.

"Sure, why not?"

"Great!" Falcon clapped his hands together excitedly. "I'm sure the baby would like you since you're kind of like a woman yourself."

"...what's that supposed to mean?" Kirby asked, his brow raised once again.

"Well you're pink, and many girls wear pink. And you have mood swings like women do, and..." Falcon trailed off when he saw the look on Kirby's face. He had obviously said something wrong. Again.

"Oh really!" Kirby yelled, anger quite evident in his voice.

"See!" Falcon pointed at him accusingly. "Mood swings just like that! You were happy and now you're mad!"

"That's because YOU make me sick!" Kirby spat. He raised one of his little flaps and a brown hammer materialized from thin air, a star imprinted on both sides of the mallet's head. He waved it threateningly at Captain Falcon, who dashed in the opposite direction.

"GET BACK HERE!" Kirby screamed, chasing after Falcon and occasionally swinging at him whenever he felt he was close enough. He didn't land a hit, but that only motivated him even more.

'_That's it,_' Falcon thought to himself. '_I'm never visiting Kirby again unless I'm wearing body armor..._'

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Claude had been told to follow Miyamoto into a back room of the store for his prize. The man still hadn't spoken a word as he led him down a hall, music and sounds echoing from the games the finalists that hadn't won were unleashed upon. They had arrived at a metal door that looked thick and sturdy. Miyamoto whipped out a card from his pocket, his other hand occupied by a small stack of papers. He slid the card through the door's security system and was granted access by the sound of a 'ding.'

It was here that things started to feel surreal for Claude. Here he was, following **Shigeru Miyamoto **downa new metal hallway hidden behind the door. This was getting stranger by the minute. They arrived at another door requiring security clearance, unlocked with yet another swipe of the card. This led to a dark room, almost completely pitch black save for the few flashing lights along the walls. The door closed and Miyamoto flicked a light switch on. The room was a decent size, but consoles and panels lined the walls, whose purpose Claude could only imagine. The room was pretty plain beyond this as there were no decorations or furniture beyond a few chairs. It seemed that this room only served one purpose, and Claude spotted it dead center in the room.

It was square shaped and stood about 3 feet tall. Claude leaned over it to notice glass covering the flat surface, with nothing but darkness beneath that.

"What's this thing?" He asked Miyamoto, who had retreated to one of the corners of the room and began fastening some headgear to his head. He then rolled his eyes at his own question. Miyamoto hadn't said a word the entire time, and he barely spoke English. What kind of answer would he get?

Miyamoto turned to him, smiling like a giddy child on Christmas day. "It's the Digital World Animator Machine!"

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Adding the author to his own story is a bit insane, though with a series like this, it'll work and lead to more possibilities. The first (and second) chapters are a little on the slow side for this series, as they are setting up the rest of the story. Hopefully things will really pick up by the third chapter, which I'm working on right. 


	2. Chapter 2: Digitize me, Cap'n!

Okay, so I didn't have this chapter up as soon as it probably should have been put up. Anyways, I thank anyone who waited patiently for the next step in a long journey. Like I said, the first two chapters are a little on the slow side...things will pick up by the third chapter, and things will really get rolling later on. Anyways, time for another disclaimer, which I don't plan on repeating too much.

**Disclaimer:** Super Smash Brothers and all related characters and content are copyrighted by Nintendo. Also, all Star Ocean content is copyrighted by tri-Ace. I don't own any of that. But I do own the original characters, and Claude the Author is the property of himself...er, myself. So, ASK BEFORE YOU USE!

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**Chapter 2:** _Digitize me, Captain!_

"The Digital wha?" Claude asked, watching Miyamoto hold a small stack of papers he entered the room with over a slot on one of the walls. He noticed the title on the first page. Those papers were the stories he submitted to the contest! His Smash Brother's stories focusing on Kirby & friends' journeys that could only be explained as insane.

Miyamoto let the papers slide in and pushed a button. The sound of computers and machinery working their magic quickly filled the room. He walked over to the center of the room and peered down into the glass of the Viewer, the large square shaped object that stood about 3 feet tall. When Claude didn't get a reply, he started to ask his question again, when Miyamoto finally spoke up.

"The Digital World Animator Machine," he said. He looked directly at Claude with a smile, "It's your prize."

Things were really strange now. Not only was Miyamoto speaking – with fluid English, but he also suggested that this...machine was the prize.

"But what IS this thing?" Claude asked, almost in disbelief.

Miyamoto's attention turned back to the Viewer. He pointed to the glass and quietly said, "Watch."

Sure enough, the darkness underneath the glass began to slowly disperse, as if it were black fog being sucked away by a vacuum. Miniature lands became visible beneath the black smoke...lands Claude began to recognize. Nintendo lands.

"Is this a map?" he asked.

"Yes, it's called the Viewer!" Miyamoto squealed excitedly. He ran over to a panel attached to the 'Viewer' and pressed a few keys on it. "It can zoom in and out," he finally added as the view started to descend on the many worlds.

"I thought it was called the Digital World...thing?" Claude asked in confusion, watching as valleys and forests became visible. The Viewer was zooming in on Dreamland.

"No, no...this entire room is the Digital World Animator Machine," Miyamoto explained, throwing his arm out wide, as if showing an invisible audience the room for the first time.

Claude couldn't help but cast a look around at the room, "I'm not sure I can take this room home with me."

Miyamoto chuckled. "You're not taking it home. We're going to use it, for the first time, right here!" Claude was about to speak again when Miyamoto, knowing exactly what he was going to ask, cut him off and continued, "I'll explain everything. You need to know before we use this thing," he said, patting the Viewer.

"This piece of technology, the Digital World Animator Machine...simply put, it brings video games to life. Using our history and library of games, the machine will create what was once a product of imagination into a fully interactive world in a separate, pocket dimension."

He saw the skeptical look on Claude's face and continued. "This machine is still new, this is the first time we've put it into use. And as a test, we're using your stories to merge with the games to create a unique take on this private little Nintendo universe. That's what the slot was for," he gestured towards where inserted the stories earlier. "We're feeding that information to the machine."

There was a short silence before Claude uttered, "It can't be true."

"Why not?" Miyamoto asked, still smiling.

"Technology like that doesn't exist. And if it did, it would be all over the media."

"Well, this technology was very secretive," he assured Claude. "None of the governments want this getting out to the public anyway."

"So if all of this isn't some sick joke, what do I have to do with anything?"

"I understand that it's hard to believe. What do you think my reaction was when I was told about such technology?" Miyamoto said, the smile never leaving his face. "But your role in this, the role you won, is to help me test the machine..." He pointed to a corner, where Claude noticed for the first time a large, clear tube. It looked as if it was made for people to enter, yet it didn't go anywhere. The floor beneath it was quite solid and so was the ceiling it led up to.

"You're going to go to the pocket dimension, but first we must cover a matter of...safety." Miyamoto gestured for Claude to come over to the Viewer's panel, where he started tapping away at keys again. "The Machine does a lot of governing over the Nintendo Universe now that it has been made real in an alternate realm, and here is where we can program direct commands for anyone inside or going inside of the universe, granted the user has the needed security level. I decided to make this a bit more fun by letting you customize some things, like your clothing."

By now, Claude had convinced himself that this was a dream, or some kind of hidden camera show, though he leaned more on the idea of it being a dream. He slowly started tapping away at the panel's keyboard as Miyamoto edged over to the large Transporter tube. It had a panel of its own, though much smaller, connected directly to it. He pressed a button and light erupted from the tube, as the connection between Earth and Nintendo was made...

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Captain Falcon was starting to run out of breath now that they were running up a hill, yet Kirby showed no sign of slowing down when another swing of the mallet narrowly missed his target.

"This is insane!" Falcon shouted. "Leave me alone already!"

"DIE!" was Kirby's twisted reply, preparing for another swing.

The sky darkened as a bright circle of light, surrounded by clouds, erupted from thin air. The clouds began to swirl around it a bit as the circle of light began to pulsate. Captain Falcon stopped in his tracks and stared at the light in the sky in awe, when he ducked a horizontal swing of the hammer and rolled out of the way as Kirby brought the mallet down where he was once standing.

Now, the entire sky began to phase in and out, as if someone or something had taken hold of the very fabric of the universe and began to alter it to their liking. A pillar of light shot out from the circle in the sky and made contact with the very top of the hill they were on, near a lone tree that sat there. Streams of coding and data steadily flowed up and down the pillar.

"Don't you want to see what's going on!" Captain Falcon called out to Kirby, who replied with yet another swing of the hammer. It seemed that his rage completely blocked out what was happening. Either that or he was doing a very good job of pretending not to notice.

Falcon bolted up the hill, with Kirby following shortly behind, right towards the pillar from the sky...

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"You might want some defense," Miyamoto said. "It may be a video game world but because of this machine, it's as real as you and I. Though I hope you don't come across any trouble, we don't want to take any chances."

Claude took this in and began tapping away at the keyboard. Feeling confident that this was a dream, he entered several kinds of defenses, just for fun. When he finished, Miyamoto quickly ushered him towards the large tube, where he stepped inside, expecting to awaken abruptly at any moment.

"When you want to leave, just say 'Exit Command.' There should be a response and you'll be returned to this room." When Miyamoto stepped back and waved after pressing a button on the tube's panel, a curiosity hit Claude, and he knew he wanted his question answered before the dream ended.

"How come you can speak fluid English?"

Miyamoto pointed to the headset he had been wearing all along. "It would be a little silly if man could create a machine that makes video games a reality if he couldn't even make a simple translator, don't you agree?"

Before Claude could reply or even react, his body was laced in streams of data before he disappeared completely.

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The light in the sky began to pulsate even faster as a mound of data made its way down the pillar made out of streams of coding and data. Once it touched the ground, it turned into the form of a person. The stream of coding died out, causing the pillar to disappear. The light in the sky also dimmed before going out completely, returning the sky and the world to its natural order.

Claude had landed in a crouching position, and stood. The actual trip was a bit hazy, for all he remembered was data and coding flying by his face and occasionally seeing the sky through the waves of figures. He felt a bit strange, and when he examined his clothing, he knew why.

Rather than the clothes he was wearing, a light blue t-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers with blue streaks and soles, he was now wearing a short-sleeved blue vest which was stitched closed in the front, baggy red pants, blue boots, and blue wristbands. A blue headband held back what was once normal brown hair, darker than his brown skin, now transformed into spiked hair with one spike reaching over and down between the eyebrows right above his brown eyes. He called this particular attire the "Claudefit" and felt that he blended in with this video game community quite well. Hanging at his side was a sheathed sword, and in his pocket a Phase Gun – two methods of defense Miyamoto urged him to input, yet he never specified what that defense had to be.

Claude surveyed his environment. The hill he was standing atop was marked with a nearby tree, the rest of the land quite colorful with lakes, mountains and forests as far as the eye could see. The star patterns riddled along just about everything could only be the signature of one place – he was in Dreamland.

Though the light and pillar had disappeared, Captain Falcon still raced to the top of the hill, determined to discover the cause of this oddity. When he reached the top, he was surprised to find a young man there. He had been running so long that he forgot he actually was running, and came to a skidding halt inches before colliding with him. He blinked in confusion, when he remembered what was chasing him and swiftly ducked as Kirby appeared behind him with yet another horizontal swing of the hammer. The pink puffball missed his intended target, though he did hit someone, and it didn't register until he realized the wrong person had fell to the ground as Captain Falcon let out a horrified gasp.

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I'm working on Chapter 4 right now, so it'll only be a matter of time before I put up Chapter 3. Tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames will be stomped out.  



	3. Chapter 3: Gamer's Fantasy

Well, it's been awhile since my last update, especially considering that I already had this chapter finished, as a back up in the very case that I couldn't get chapter 4 done in the time that I planned. With College work and an essay due almost every week, my creativity and will to write has usually been drained when it comes to my fanfiction...but I still manage to do a bit every now and then. But enough of that, you're here for the story!

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**Chapter 3:**_Gamer's Fantasy_

"Look what you made me do!"

"What _I _made you do!"

"You always screw things up!"

"You shouldn't have been chasing me with that hammer like some maniac!"

"Well, you shouldn't have provoked me!"

Bickering voices echoed in the darkness, then a sharp pain to the head. Claude's eyes shot open as he felt the back of his skull. His vision was blurred, but someone or something was clearly in front of him, and beyond them was a mass of blue, which he immediately knew was the sky. He assumed that he had to have been dreaming, having been so abruptly ripped out of any gamer's fantasy. That was, until his vision cleared, and the voices came to a short stop.

"Is he alive?"

"Of course he's alive!"

"Well _you're_ the one that hit him!"

"Because you ducked! No one told you to duck!"

"Oh, like I'm really going to stand there and let you whack me with that hammer!"

Claude couldn't believe it, though his eyes weren't lying to him. Standing over him were Kirby and Captain Falcon, bickering once again. He finally sat up, still rubbing the back of his head, though not really paying attention to the argument. He did catch 'annoying' and 'mood swings.'

When the arguing duo realized that he was getting up, they both reached to help him up, actually hitting one another in the process until the argument reheated. Claude stood back and stared at them in awe. It wasn't a prank and it wasn't a dream. He was really in Dreamland, watching two Nintendo characters he only saw on his TV screen and in his imagination quarrel with one another.

He watched the fight a little before he mustered up the sense to ask, "What hit me?"

The arguing abruptly stopped and a short silence followed behind. Kirby smiled sheepishly as he tried to hide his hammer behind his small body. Captain Falcon looked as if he was about to burst if he couldn't say what he really wanted to.

He finally cracked and squealed, "Kirby did it!" He pointed accusingly at Kirby, who shot him a dirty look.

"I'm sorry," Kirby apologized. "I wasn't trying to hit you..."

"Yeah, he was trying to hit ME, because he's crazy!" Captain Falcon proclaimed. "Don't turn your back on him!"

Tired of Falcon's ranting, Kirby changed the subject as he finally gave Claude a good look over. "Hiiii!" he cheered happily, as if the hammer incident had never happened. "I'm Kirby and that guy over there is Captain Falcon. What's you're name?"

"I'm Claude," the young man told them as Falcon shook his hand.

"You're not from around here, are you, Claude?" Kirby asked.

Claude wasn't sure why, but he contemplated whether telling them he was from an alternate universe where Earth existed was a good idea or not. He decided to be honest and told them, "No, I'm from Earth."

Captain Falcon gasped. "Really! So it really was you that came down from the sky in that pillar thing!"

"Yeah, but I couldn't really see much."

"That's amazing!" Kirby exclaimed. "The only other person that's ever made their way here was Shigeru Miyamoto. And that was over a year ago!"

"Yeah, but we kinda brought him here. So, how _did_ you get here, Claude?" Falcon asked.

"Oh, it was a contest. A fanfiction writin' contest. I won and Miyamoto himself showed me the prize. The Digital..." Claude struggled to remember the name, "Some kinda digital machine. Anyway, it can send people back and forth through the dimensional barriers, so that's how I got here."

"Oh, so you're a fan! In that case, you probably want to see every inch of the Nintendoverse!"

"Definitely!" Claude said enthusiastically. The trio were unaware of the binoculars glued onto their forms, as its user wore a mischievous smirk.

"No one falls out of the sky and onto my land without **my** permission," he said quietly to himself.

"So if we're going to take you on a tour, where would we go first?" Kirby asked, mostly to himself as the trio made their way back down and hill in the direction the chase had originally occurred in. "There's a lot to Dreamland, and Popstar, if you even want to see it."

Captain Falcon, with a confused look on his face said, "I thought we were going to-"

"Oh!" Kirby cut him off. "The Festival of Stars is today, or tonight rather...how long are you staying, Claude?"

"Uh..." Claude never really thought about. "I guess as long as I want." He shrugged.

"Good, good!" Kirby said happily. "In that case, we can come back here later for the Festival!"

Captain Falcon's face still wore a look of confusion. "But I thought we were-"

"AHA!" Standing at the foot of the hill was none other than the self-proclaimed King, Dedede, pointing accusingly at the trio. They were so close together, however, that they had no idea if he was singling either of them out or pointing to them as a whole.

Kirby instinctively scowled. "What is it this time, Dedede?"

"That's **King** Dedede!" The blue penguin said proudly, his thumb pointing to himself as he wore an arrogant smirk on his face. (He is a penguin...right? ...Right!)

"Oh, wow, you're a king!" Falcon said excitedly. This was met with an eye roll from Kirby.

"He's not a _real_ King, Falcon..."

"Oh..." Falcon replied sadly.

"I am too a real King even if _you_ won't acknowledge it!" He shouted, now approaching the trio. "And you," he pointed directly to Claude, walking up the hill until his extended finger made contact with his target's chest.

"Me?" Claude asked, unable to formulate a real question due to the shock of seeing King Dedede. He still wasn't used to the fact that he was not in a dream and that familiar video game characters could pop out at any moment.

"Yes, you. You can't just fall out of the sky and land here without paying the toll!" Dedede complained.

"There's no toll...right?" Claude looked to Captain Falcon, who wore a blank look, and then to Kirby, who shook his head.

"Dedede, stop bothering us," Kirby said. "You know there's never been a toll..."

"Well there is now! Anyone that crosses lands and into Dreamland, _my_ territory, will have to pay up." Dedede held out his palm as if expecting something.

"But it's not like I brought any money here with me..." Claude held out his empty arms.

"The give me somethin' valuable!" Dedede was growing impatient. "Like that sword on your side! Or the thing in your pocket!"

Claude had forgotten about his other weapon by this point, and pulled out the Phase Gun. Dedede jumped back in surprise, half expecting the weapon to go off in his direction while Claude inspected it. It was definitely the real deal.

"Cool!" Falcon exclaimed. "You're carrying around a gun, and I'm carrying around a holster. How much of a coincidence is that!" Captain Falcon's comment mostly went ignored, mainly because no one knew how to respond to it. Suddenly, Claude got an idea and put the gun away.

"You still have to pay the toll!" Dedede demanded, stamping the ground.

"So," a sly grin started to play at Claude's lips. "If you cross lands into Dreamland, you have to pay the toll?"

"That's what I said," Dedede said, eying him suspiciously. "You crossed lands into my territory, now you have to pay me. Why are you asking?"

"It's 'cause I didn't cross lands to get here. I crossed _dimensions_," Claude said coolly.

Dedede opened his mouth as if to retort, but nothing came out. A look of annoyance and determination was now on the king's face.

"Claude's from Earth!" Falcon said excitedly.

"Not possible..." Dedede muttered.

"It's true!" Captain Falcon protested.

"I don't care if it's true or not! _You_ still have to pay the toll," Dedede shouted, making sure to point at Claude in the process. "And you know what?" His finger trailed over to Captain Falcon, "I think you should be paying too. You're not from around here either."

Kirby shook his head. There was no getting around Dedede.

"Who...me?" Falcon asked, looking puzzled

"Yes, you Neanderthal!" Dedede growled.

"My name isn't Neanderthal!" Captain Falcon said, looking offended for all the wrong reasons.

Kirby suddenly got an idea. It was as if Falcon's voice was the key to a puzzle. A puzzle that involved getting Dedede off their backs.

"Hey, Falcon...Dedede likes cars." Kirby shot Dedede an amused glance, anticipating Captain Falcon's reaction.

Dedede's confused face said it all. "What? I didn't say anything about-"

"Oh my god, you like cars!" Falcon screamed in excitement, throwing his arms into the air. "**I like cars too!**" And within seconds, he was upon Dedede in a fury driven by his passion for cars, screaming various things, though mostly disconnected, about how and why he liked cars.

"What kinds of cars do you like! I'll tell you what kind I like: ALL OF THEM! I like cars so much, I'm thinking about writing a poem about them! Isn't that great! DON'T YOU WANT TO WRITE ONE TOO!"

Dedede backed away, terrified by the sudden change in the man. Captain Falcon started frothing at the mouth now, as if in a trance, unaware of anything outside of Dedede and his own love for cars. He quickly closed the distance between himself and Dedede, screaming some more nonsense about cars in his face. Finally, Dedede lost it and ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Captain Falcon chased after him.

"I DIDN'T GET TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE F-ZERO GRAND PRIX! THERE'S SO MANY CARS AND THEY ALL RACE EACH OTHER AND...!"

Claude was brought out of his own shock at seeing Captain Falcon spazz out like never before when something tugged and pulled at his hand. Kirby was leading him away from the scene and in another direction, towards the Blue Falcon.

"What about Captain Falcon?" he asked.

"He'll return...eventually," he merely said.

And finally, Captain Falcon did return, huffing and gasping for air. "I don't understand why he ran from me...we both like cars."

"Uh...you were kinda scary back there," Claude pointed out.

"Yeah, sometimes I get _a little_ carried away when talking about cars." Kirby snickered at the irony. "So what did I miss?"

"I told Claude about Fox and Iris's baby, so we're going to see them."

Claude was of course, surprised by this news. Time had moved on here beyond what was down on paper. Kirby had assumed that he was shocked because news such as Fox having a child must not have been known to Earth.

"But...that's what I was trying to tell you earlier!" Falcon yelled.

"Yeah, well...Yoshi's Island is on the way, so we'll stop by there first."

"Oh...well I guess I'll see you guys in Corneria." Captain Falcon hopped into the Blue Falcon and waved, leaving a blast of wind as it sped to, over the horizon, and out of Dreamland.

Kirby stood on the tips of his shoes and began waving towards the sky as if signaling something. Claude was confused at first but soon realized what Kirby was doing when a lone star made its way through the morning sky and headed into their direction. The star stooped a few inches short of hitting Kirby, turning horizontally as Kirby plopped down onto its flat side. He patted the star and it expanded, leaving room for a second passenger. Claude gently sat onto the star and threw his legs up onto it. Kirby glanced back and saw the look on his face.

"Don't worry, I guarantee this is a **much** safer ride than with Captain Falcon in the Blue Falcon," he said, trying to stifle Claude's worries. "Now, you might want to hold on. Not that there's anything to worry about. The star has its own center of gravity, so the only way you'd fall off is if you actually tried to jump off, or I was flying it really crazy."

Claude pondered this for a moment before he realized that the star was slowly taking to the sky. The land beneath continuously shrank and the star picked up speed, shooting diagonally into the sky.

* * *

Chapter 4 is already underway, but like I said, college work is getting in the way, so when I'll finish it and get it out is up in the air. 


	4. Chapter 4: Bitter Rivals

I wanted to get this out sooner, but apparently I didn't. But since I started keeping backup chapters in cases of long delays, I can bring to you Chapter 4 after all!

And in other news: Private Messages? I'd like the system better if it didn't just email the message to the person. And personal forums? I don't think I'd need one, though I've opened one in case anyone had anything to say.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**_Bitter Rivals_

The star Claude and Kirby were riding shot straight through a cloud. Claude held on more tightly than was necessary. He didn't really have Acrophobia or anything like that, but he still had a bit of an unsettled feeling knowing that the only thing keeping the two of them this high in the sky was a thin magical star.

The star descended under the clouds. Claude wasn't sure how long they had been flying, but he guessed anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes. They must have 'crossed lands' by now, because the bright and cheery surroundings of Dreamland had been replaced with a wide ocean, the scent of salt water evident in the air.

Something Kirby told him earlier was bothering him until he finally said, "You said the star had its own center of gravity. But it's too small."

Kirby glanced back and said, "You're in another dimension now. Earth's rules of physics don't necessarily apply here...oh, look! I see the island!" Kirby pointed towards a mound of land further ahead in the sea. They cleared the cloud they were under and the sun shined down brightly, causing Claude to block it out with his hand to see the island Kirby was pointing to.

Yoshi's Island looked much like it did in the games. Four oddly shaped mountains, capped in white, jutted up to the sky from the center of the island. Everything else surrounded the mountains: hills, forests, plains, a lake, and a few structures such as castles and towers. The star lowered further and was now close enough to the surface of the water to send it parting behind it.

"Uh...um..." Kirby was hesitant. "I think I should tell you that...I'm not really good with landings."

"What!" Claude shouted as the water beneath them was replaced with the sand of a beach. Kirby flinched.

Claude thought back to all the games, and remembered that Kirby never had what would be considered a good landing. In fact, most of his landings consisted of his star plummeting to the ground and exploding, sending him flying from the crash site.

"I shoulda saw this comin'," Claude muttered, holding on even tighter to the star when they crossed the sandy beach and over grassy plains, with a forest not too far ahead of them. Kirby took the opportunity to lower the star even more, the 'nose' of it digging into the earth and kicking up soil behind them. The friction was causing the star to slow down, and Kirby was now confident that he would have his first decent landing in years when...

'_Pop!'_

The star exploded into a cloud of stardust, leaving both Kirby and Claude soaring through the air before tumbling and rolling through the grass. Lying on his back, Claude got a sudden feeling of déjà vu when he opened his eyes to find Kirby standing over him and apologizing.

"I'm sorry!" he bellowed. "I would have worked on my landings if I knew I was going to be flying guests around!"

Claude sat up and said, "Forget guests! You should work on landin', _period_. What if you get hurt in one of those crazy crashes?" He stood and brushed the grass from his clothes.

"Okay! Okay...I'll work on my landings!" Kirby defended himself. He glanced around their surroundings and said, "The village isn't too far from here. You'll like it!" Kirby headed into the direction of the nearby forest, bouncing happily. Claude followed him, half expecting him to burst into song at any moment.

He didn't. However, he did wonder aloud, "I wonder where Yoshi is?" As if on cue, bushes near the forest rustled and the familiar green yoshi stepped out into the grassy plains, holding a mound of exotic fruits in his arms and lapping them up and into his mouth with his long tongue. He looked up and blinked at the odd pair.

"Kirfy?" He said through a mouthful of fruit. "Waat arr y..." He swallowed the fruit after receiving appalled looks. "Like I was saying, what are you doing here? And who's that?"

"This is Claude. He's a fan, from Earth! And we were just-"

The fruit fell to the grass in a clutter, abandoned. Yoshi had appeared near them in a green blur, and now was thoroughly examining Claude with a skeptical look on his face.

"You don't _look_ like someone with the ability to pass between dimensions," he said, eying him.

"Yeah, well, I won a contest and Miyamoto helped me use a machine that got me here."

A pleased grin quickly replaced Yoshi's once skeptical glare. "So, you won a contest so you could hop-skip dimensions, just to meet me?"

"What? No, I didn't even know that-"

"You don't have to be embarrassed. I'll even give you an autograph. I'm sure that's what you want, next to meeting me and all." If Yoshi's large ego wasn't apparent to anyone before, it was now. "You got a pen?"

"I don't want any autographs."

"Nonsense! I'll give you one! You did come all this way after all!" Yoshi said.

"Yoshi..." Kirby said, almost regretting dragging his new Earth friend into this. "When I said fan, I meant **Nintendo** fan, not just a fan of you..."

"But that includes me!" Yoshi declared, pointing a thumb at himself. "And we all know the fans flock to me! He just wants an autograph..."

"But-" Claude started, but was interrupted by Kirby.

"Don't bother," the puffball said. "Yoshi's in an impenetrable state now that his ego has fully kicked in."

"Hey," Yoshi spoke up, as if oblivious to anything Kirby had just said, "Why don't I show you to the village? Then you can tell all your friends about it, and how cool I am."

"But that's why I brought him here!" Kirby yelled. "**I** wanted to show him the village!"

"Kirby, don't be so self-centered," Yoshi said, brushing him off. "It's this way," He pointed into the forest, taking the lead and scooping up some of the fallen fruit to continue his meal.

"Me? Self-centered? Compared to HIM!" Kirby asked himself, nearly outraged.

"C'mon!" he heard Claude call out. He and Yoshi had already started to disappear into the depths of the forest.

Kirby raced to catch up with them along the forest trail, which started to narrow as trees and boulders began to close in. After a few minutes, the trail had disappeared completely, and Yoshi started to climb the large boulder that marked the end of the trail.

"It's not that far from here," he said, balancing himself on the top of the rock and nimbly jumping onto another boulder. Claude followed, taking note of Yoshi's agility. Kirby took the easy root by inflating his body and floating closely behind them.

"I didn't know you were so..." Claude started.

"Agile?" Yoshi said, a bit of his ego slipping out. "I have to be, for the Super Smash Brothers tournaments and all. I'd like to think that one of my groupies would know that."

"So I'm a groupie now?" Claude remarked with sarcasm, leaping off of one boulder and onto another.

"You want to be called something else? You think that's a little extreme?" Yoshi asked nonchalantly.

"Actually, I don't want to be-"

"Oh, we're almost here!" Yoshi exclaimed.

Another trail had appeared once they made it past the boulders. A short walk and they arrived at a huge, circular clearing.

"I present to you, the Yoshi Village," said Yoshi, throwing his arms out with a welcoming gesture. Claude and Kirby stepped out of the forest and into the busy clearing. Yoshis of every color bustled to and fro, some even off to the sides sleeping. There were a few huts scattered around, but Yoshis actually preferred sleeping outside, so they were used for storage and emergencies in most cases. None of the busy dinosaurs had noticed the new arrivals. They all continued about their normal activities.

"So, what d'ya think?" Yoshi asked with a grin on his face. "Cool, huh? I mean, I do live here and all, so it _has_ to be cool."

"I didn't know there was a place like this," said Claude.

"And you shouldn't have ever found out!"

Eyes turned to the right, as a yoshi stepped out of the darkness of the forest. His scales were blue and shades sat atop his large snout. Around his neck was a spike-studded collar, and a saddle similar to Yoshi's sat on his back. His footwear was specially designed to expose his clawed feet. An arrogant, nasty smile was on his face.

The ground shook slightly as his partner caught up with him. This creature, also a dinosaur, was much taller than all the other Yoshis, with brown scales along her body. She looked like a cross between a T-Rex and a Yoshi, and stood quietly behind the blue yoshi, her shadow towering over him. She was Shyla.

Yoshi rolled his eyes. "What do you want _today_, Boshi?" he asked in annoyance.

"You damn well know that you aren't supposed to be bringing anybody in here...a _human_, no less," he added acidly, throwing a look in Claude's direction, who raised a brow in return.

"Actually," Yoshi said sternly, "the rule says that you can only bring trustworthy friends along."

"Trustworthy?" Boshi asked mockingly, trying to suppress a laugh.

"Bah, go annoy someone else. I'm busy right now," Yoshi said in an attempt to get rid of Boshi. It didn't work.

"You're just mad..." the blue dinosaur said, reaching under the saddle on his back and revealing a medallion, which he put around his neck, "...because _she_ gave me this." He fiddled and fingered the heart-shaped medallion, twisting it back and forth.

"Oh really?" Yoshi said, his ego taking over. "Is that why it says 'to Yoshi' on the back? It sounds more like you **stole** it from her to me."

Boshi's arrogant smirk dwindled, and disappeared completely when he checked the medallion himself. He cast an angry glance at the dinosaur behind him, which wasn't fully readable behind the shades, but still had its intended effect, because she winced in reply.

"Look," Yoshi said. "All I want to do is show them the village."

Boshi's cool demeanor returned. "Not if you're bringing the human along."

"'_The human'_ has a name, and he goes where he wants to," Claude replied, which garnered a glare from Boshi.

"That's what you think," Boshi finally said, with a hint malice in his voice.

"What, are you going to stop me?" Claude asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Don't tempt me, or I'll get her to do it," he said, gesturing to the large dinosaur behind him.

"Ha, I'd like to see you try to send Shyla after me."

Awkward silence. Stares.

"...how did you know my name?" the large dinosaur inquired in her deep voice.

Whoops. They didn't know.

"Yeah, I don't remember sayin' anything about her to you..." Yoshi said suspiciously. "Did you tell him, Kirby?" Kirby shook his head (or body, really) in reply.

"Well, uh...who doesn't know about Shyla back on Earth?" Claude asked casually, trying to save himself.

"Wait, you're from Earth!" Boshi's shades almost fell off of his face as he was taken aback. "What's someone from Earth doing here!"

"Making history," Yoshi said, gesturing for Claude and Kirby to follow him into the village, leaving the somewhat confused Boshi behind.

Before long, the trio found themselves in the middle of the village, a swirling rainbow of Yoshi's around them. There were a few looks and whispering, but that was to be expected. This made Claude curious nonetheless.

"How many humans have been here before?"

"You're the first one," Yoshi said with a smirk. "C'mon, I want to show you my hut." Yoshi cut into the mass of Yoshis, with Kirby and Claude trying to keep up. The crowds were thinning near the edge of the village, where most of the huts were located.

Yoshi slipped a key out from under his saddle and unlocked the door of one of the huts. Claude and Kirby followed him inside into the sparse room, which was only occupied by a lone computer.

"That's a pretty impressive looking computer," Kirby commented. "But what's something like that doing on this island?"

"Actually, Samus gave it to me. She said that it was for emergency contact with the island, since there's no technology here. Personally, I don't think it needs to be here since hardly anything ever happens on this island, but I wasn't going to turn down a free computer! And considering how hard I rock, I deserve it."

"Well, I guess that make sense...but we can't stay too long. Captain Falcon may already be in Corneria!"

"...why would you be worried about where Falcon is?" Yoshi asked, sitting in a makeshift chair by the computer.

"We're supposed to be meeting him in Corneria, to see Fox and Iris's kid. The reason why I brought Claude here was because it was on the way, and I thought he'd like to see the island!"

"Yeah, we're gonna see the baby. Captain Falcon went ahead of us." Claude added on.

"Well, I'd stay away from Falcon, if you want to preserve your brain cells, y'know?" Yoshi said, swiveling in the chair. "The guy is a lost cause. I'm surprised he hasn't turned Samus into an idiot yet."

"Hey," Kirby said, an idea coming to him. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Nah, I have a feeling that I'll see the kid soon enough."

"Well I'm sorry to cut this visit short, but we should go. Maybe we can come back later!"

Kirby happily bounced out of the hut, followed by Claude and Yoshi. A star had already fallen out of the sky and awaited them. Kirby hopped on while Claude hesitated for a moment before sitting on the star aswell. They waved to their green friend as the star started to ascend above the village and mass of Yoshis.

"HEY! YOU DIDN'T GET MY AUTOGRAPH!" Yoshi cried out.

"He doesn't give up," Claude said with a chuckle, as the star took off with a burst of speed, leaving the island behind.

"I hope you're comfortable," Kirby said. "Because it'll be a short while before we get to Corneria."

-----

"Grrraaaaaahhh!"

The furious scream was followed by the crash of a trash can. The kick did nothing to subside the young man's anger, as he continued to walk down the street, consumed by his own rage.

"Mine was the best and those bastards knew it..."

"I couldn't help but notice..." a voice echoed from the shadows of an alley.

"Sorry, I don't associate with winos," the young man said rather crudely, and kept on his way until the mystery man stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself to be a well dressed man of Japanese decent. The glasses on his face gave off an ominous glare.

"Okay, so you might not be a wino. That still doesn't explain why you're hiding in alleyways and talking to people you obviously don't know."

The man didn't seem to be fazed by this, and continued to wear a devious smile. "As I was saying, I saw the little contest back there and..."

"So! What do you want?"

"I just want to give you what you deserve. You see, I also believe that you should have won."

"So you've read my stuff?"

"Yes, and I'll make sure you also receive the 'prize' for the winner..."

The young man gave an incredulous look to the mystery man, whose smile only broadened in return.

* * *

UH-OH! Foreshadowing! Chapter 5 is nearly complete, though I may end up splitting it into 2 seperate chapters. Either way, the real plot will start to show itself once the quest to see the baby is over. 


	5. Chapter 5: Babies & Heifers Pt1

This chapter got longer than I intended, so, as evidenced by the chapter title, I split it in half.While this half mostly deals with babies, the heifers will be revealed in the next one, as well having the plot actually pick up.

**

* * *

Chapter 5:**_ Babies and Heifers Pt.1_

"Did you see that?" Kirby asked.

"Yeah, that was kinda weird," Claude replied. "The sky rippled for a second."

"It was almost like how you arrived here." Kirby eyed the sky warily for a bit even though it had returned to normal.

"Hmm..." Claude thought about the possibilities. Miyamoto could be working on something, which would explain the rippling sky. "It's probably got somethin' to do with the DWA Machine."

"DWA...?"

"Digital World Animator Machine...that's what the thing that got me here was called. That's a lot to say so I shortened it."

"Well, we must be close now," Kirby said, as the ocean was replaced with land. "There, right ahead! Corneria City!" The grassy hills and mountains gave way to flat land bursting with tall, advanced buildings. The star swooped around one building with a spherical top and dived down below the heavy traffic of flying vehicles.

It was starting to become apparent that Kirby was having trouble navigating through all of the obstacles, when a lone taxi swerved around a building, clipping the edge of the star and sending it spiraling to the streets below...

* * *

Claude began to regain consciousness and instantly felt a sense of déjà vu, his back against the ground and two blurred figures standing over him. For a moment, he thought he was reliving his first moments in the Nintendoverse, until his eyesight cleared and he noticed that the two people standing over him were not Kirby and Captain Falcon, but instead two anthropomorphic animals. 

"Look, he's waking up."

"Hey, you feeling okay...?"

Claude was up and in a defensive stance in a flash. These...creatures, had come from nowhere. A pair of them...a skunk, and a kangaroo...or was it a wallaby?

Like anyone really knows the difference.

"Hey, calm down..." The kangaroo said, approaching slowly.

"Back up, Rocko!" Claude demanded, skipping over his sword and reaching for the Phase Gun in his pocket...if it was still there. The kangaroo and his partner, though confused, did as instructed. Claude surveyed the area, trying to remember what happened last. Once he realized where he was, he relaxed a bit. The futuristic city, the anthropomorphic citizens...it was Corneria alright. And these two, the skunk and the kangaroo, must have witnessed him falling off of the crashing star and went to genuinely see if he was okay.

He had landed on the sidewalk, or what would pass for a sidewalk in Corneria. It wasn't the natural earth, and it wasn't cement. The sidewalks were tiled in fancy patterns that gave off an alien feel to the world when compared to the dull, often times uneven and broken sidewalks back in Claude's home town of Baltimore.

"So...are you feeling okay now?" The skunk asked.

"Yeah," Claude replied. "I forgot that Lylat was Animaland, and where I come from, the animals don't talk, so this is a little crazy for me."

"Ah," the kangaroo said with interest. "I see...first time in Corneria? Well, humans aren't very common here. Actually, some of the few that do live here aren't even from Lylat."

"Claude! There you are!" The small, pink form of Kirby dashed up to him and tugged on his pant leg. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, these two here found me." Claude gestured to the kangaroo and the skunk.

There was another, harder tug at his pant leg. "Fox doesn't live far from here, let's go!"

"But...wait!" was all Claude could say while being pulled away by Kirby.

"The first Cornerians I ever met and you made me ditch them," Claude said jokingly. "We don't have to get on that star again, right?"

"Nope! When I said that Fox didn't live far from here, I really meant it!" Kirby said rather enthusiastically. He then led the way, turning a corner and walking down the street.

Claude could only wonder why they weren't bringing more attention to themselves. A human-man-person following a pink-blob-thing through Corneria City was something he thought would be considered quite a sight here, but then remembered exactly what universe he was in. The people most likely saw strange things every day.

His attention was brought back to the scenery when he began to notice something. The further they walked, the further the City seemed to...deteriorate. The buildings became less grand, less technological, and less welcoming...the homes slightly began to resemble the ones found on Earth. The many lights strewn about that kept the darkening sky from completely invading the city streets began to lessen and dim.

This place was considered the "bad" part of the city.

Kirby stopped and pointed ahead to a familiar sight. "There's his home!" He announced. And indeed it was.

Claude chuckled to himself. It was exactly as he had pictured in his head so long ago.

Kirby gave a puzzled look. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin' at all..." He replied.

Satisfied, Kirby picked up his pace towards the row of houses, finally stopping in front of the one that he remembered belonged to Fox McCloud. He raised one of his flaps to knock on the door, but changed his mind as his memory kicked in, reminding him of his last few visits.

"Uh, maybe you should do it? I don't exactly have luck with Fox when I come here."

"...I guess." Claude stepped forward and knocked a few times. There was some shuffling inside before an angry voice replied with:

"What do you want!"

"Fox, don't answer the door like that!"

There was some more shuffling before the door flew open to reveal the slightly annoyed Fox McCloud, leader of the Starfox team, dressed in full uniform. He raised a brow at the stranger standing before him.

"...and you are?"

"Hey Fox!" Kirby said, peering up from behind one of Claude's legs.

The brow twitched.

"So...you're bringing strangers...to my house now?" Fox said with difficulty, clenching his fists in order to suppress his anger any way he could.

"He's not just any stranger!" Kirby defended.

"What's going on?"

A red vixen appeared in the doorway behind Fox, peering over his shoulder. She wore a blue top and jeans, and her brown hair was long and trailed down her back.

"Hey Iris!" Kirby said, still hiding behind one of Claude's legs.

"Kirby?" Iris said in disbelief. "Hey, it's been awhile! Fox, move out of the way so they can come in," she said, literally pulling Fox back into the house as Kirby and Claude stepped into the small home.

The living room was a little bare, save for a few "essentials." A television set, which looked a little worn but much better and more futuristic in design and quality compared to Earth televisions, sat in front of a couch that doubled as a sofa bed. Next to the couch was a small table, which held some books and magazines (most likely belonging to Iris) and Fox's communicator. The room was dark, dimly lit by the TV which was running commercials. Fox plopped down onto the couch as if visitors had never arrived. Iris would have complained, but found herself thrilled with the guests, as it had been only she, Fox, and the baby for the past few weeks.

"So! What brings you here? And who's your friend?" She asked excitedly.

"My friends call me Claude-"

"And he's from Earth!" Kirby cut in.

Iris's eyes widened. "Is that true? Are you really from Earth?"

"Yeah..."

"But...when...how...?" Iris was at a loss for words.

"Not possible," Fox said from the couch.

"Exactly!" Iris boomed, pointing to Fox as if he had all the answers to the universe.

Fox, becoming somewhat interested in the conversation, turned from his position on the couch. "There's only one way to get here from Earth, unless some used...?"

"I won a contest, and the prize was getting sent here through some Digital Animator Machine by Miyamoto. I don't really know how it worked, and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure if any of this is really happenin'."

"Well I assure you Claude, we're real. At least, I think we're real," Iris said before giggling to herself.

"So why are you _here_, anyway?" Fox asked, slightly annoyed. "Let me guess, you're my number one fan?"

"No, but I know someone who is," Claude said, mostly to himself. Fox looked on curiously until Kirby spoke up.

"Actually, we came here to see the baby. Falcon was supposed to meet us here, but...I didn't see him."

"Oh! Really? The baby is right back here," Iris said, leading Claude and Kirby down the hallway, her bushy tail swishing happily behind her. "Don't be too loud, though. I just put him to sleep," she said in a whisper, before opening the door to one of the rooms in the hallway and creeping inside. The room was pretty bare, besides the crib by the window, a nearby chair, a dresser with clothing and toys inside, and a few baby products on top. Iris peered over the crib, followed by Claude and Kirby (who had to scale it), and frowned when she realized the fox pup inside was wide awake and eying his surroundings with mild interest.

"Well...he _was_ asleep..." She picked up her baby boy, who was dressed in blue pajamas, and held him caringly in her arms. "Boys, I'd like you to meet baby James T. McCloud."

"James...wait, you mean like Fox's father?" Claude inquired.

"Right," said Fox, who managed to enter the room unnoticed. He leaned against the wall with his arms folded. "When's he going to get here?" He asked Iris impatiently.

"Oh, right! The babysitter!" she said, cradling their son. "You boys better get acquainted while you can. We're not going to be here much longer."

"What? Where are you going?" Kirby asked.

"We've got a new member on the team and it's time for her first mission," Fox said.

"And I'm going along to see how she does." Iris sat in a chair when baby James began to stir a bit.

"No, you're going to spy on her..." Fox muttered.

"With good reason," Iris said sternly. The sudden change in voice alerted James, and he began to wail. Iris sighed, "Claude, have you ever seen an Arwing up close?"

"No...you've got one somewhere around here?"

"Fox, could you show Claude your Arwing? I'm going to put James back to bed before the babysitter gets here."

Fox wordlessly moved from his position against the wall, made a gesture to follow, and walked out of the room. Claude did so, and was followed by Kirby as Iris carefully set James back into his crib.

Fox led them back to the living room and into the kitchen area, where they exited through the back door and were greeted by the majestic form of Fox's Arwing.

"Is it even legal to park that thing in your backyard?" Kirby wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Iris, content with the newfound silence in the house, went to catch up with the trio when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to find that the babysitter had arrived.

"Niko! Good to see you," she said as she let the human into her home.

"Miss Iris, where's Mister Fox?" asked the babysitter, dressed in camo shorts and a sleeveless white t-shirt.

"He's entertaining guests in the backyard." Iris picked up a small purse from the couch and slung the strap over her arm. "I put James to sleep in his room. If he wakes up, read him the book in the top drawer of the dresser called _New_ _Testaments: Secret of Mana_. For some reason, it's his favorite, and he'll go right to sleep without any problems. I hope he doesn't give you any trouble."

"He's Fox's kid, that would be impossible. Nyaaha!"

"...Ooookay," Iris said, eying him strangely. "Well, I'm not sure how long the mission will be, but I'll keep in contact from the Great Fox. So, I'll see you later!"

"Roo!"

"Um, right. Roo to you too," she said before slipping out of the backdoor. She locked it before announcing, "Niko's here."

"Wait, Niko...?" Claude asked, obviously confused.

"The babysitter."

"About time," Fox said, slightly aggravated. Things were obviously taking longer than he liked. "You ready to go yet?"

"But, wait...? He, I think I know..." Claude was at a loss for words.

"You can tell us whatever it is later. Right now, we're going to...hey, what are you doing after this?" Iris had an all too knowing grin on her face

Claude looked to Kirby and shrugged. There was never a definite plan set for after seeing Baby James.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Why don't you come aboard the Great Fox?" She turned to Fox and grabbed his arm. "Is that okay, Fox?"

"Whatever."

"Right!" She said excitedly. "Claude, I want you to tell me all about Earth later on!"

"Okay...but what about Captain Falcon? He was supposed to meet us here."

"Oh...when he notices that we're not here, he'll probably figure it out!" Iris said cheerily.

"You're giving that fool too much credit," Fox stated bluntly.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Niko will tell him where we are in that case." With Fox's help, she began to climb the Arwing as Kirby summoned his Warpstar. Not long afterwards, the Arwing took to the skies and headed towards the Great Fox, which was floating somewhere near the outskirts of the city, while Kirby and Claude followed behind them on the star.

* * *

And that concludes part 1 of this chapter, with the first appearance of baby James. Chapter 6 (Part 2) is already completed and should go up not too long from now. 


	6. Chapter 6: Babies & Heifers Pt2

_Ah, this is earlier than I had expected to have this chapter up (even though it's been finished for awhile), but here it is, due to a development decision. Besides featuring the appearance of some more characters, the real plot of the story will start to surface by the end of the chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 6:**_Babies & Heifers Pt. 2_

Samus Aran sat at her ship's console, typing away as its search engine brought up all the information it could find on her latest bounty. The smug face of an insectoid alien creature covered the majority of the transparent screen.

"CURRENT WHEREABOUTS: PLANET BAISE," the computer announced in a monotone, female voice.

Samus smiled to herself behind the visor. The planet wasn't very far and it seemed that this criminal wasn't putting much of an effort to get as far away from any civilization as he possibly could. Perhaps he didn't know that there was a bounty on his head? Either way, Asylik "The Shell" would be down and out by the end of the day.

She tapped a button on the console and the transparent screen disappeared. Starting the ship's engine, she prepared to depart the Human Space Colony GS-22 when that familiar monotone voice blurted out "EMERGENCY NEWSCAST."

The transparent screen reappeared to transmit the signal it received all the way from Kanto. Samus watched on as the horrific scene played out. This one newscast would change her plans entirely.

* * *

The Arwing entered the Great Fox's docking bay, followed shortly by a Warpstar. Besides the usual vehicles of Starfox to occupy the space, there was one extra ship, acknowledged immediately by Iris when she exited the Arwing with Fox. 

"Ah, my grandfather is here!" She announced eagerly.

Slippy had entered the docking bay and ran over to them upon seeing Kirby. His eyes darted around, looking for something, as he bounced excitedly in place.

"So, did you guys bring Sheik with you?" He asked, still looking around.

After recovering from the assault known as Slippy's painfully high-pitched voice, everyone uncovered their ears for protection and Fox finally replied, with a brow raised, "Sheik? Who said anything about Sheik?"

"Oh..." He replied, disappointed. "I thought that, maybe you brought her along..."

"Sheik? Who's that?" Iris asked.

"One of Zelda's alter egos," Fox told her.

"Well it's about time," an obnoxious voice said. Falco had now entered, along with Peppy and a blue vixen.

"We were waiting for the babysitter," Fox said, awaiting another remark from Falco.

It was Iris who spoke instead. "Hey, since the gang is here, it's time for some formal introductions for our new guest Claude!"

"It may seem a little silly, since you seem to know a lot about the Nintendo universe, but I think it should be done anyway!" She said. "Well, I'm Iris Aelita, and this is Fox McCloud. The bird is Falco Lombardi, and here is Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and she is..."

"Krystal," the blue vixen said herself, garnering a distasteful look from Iris. "It's nice to meet you Claude. I get the strange sense that you're not from Lylat. In fact, I believe you're from very far away." She held out her delicate, cerulean hand and he took it, much to Iris's dismay.

"Yeah, I'm from Earth."

"Oh really?" Falco quipped.

"It's true!" Kirby exclaimed. "I saw him come here myself."

"I believe you," Krystal smiled and batted her eyelashes. "I'm from Cerinia myself, which is also outside of the Lylat System."

"But Earth...we're talking about an entirely different dimension here!" Falco threw his arms into the air in frustration when he realized that no one was agreeing with him.

"Earth, you say?" said the inquiring voice of an old hound. General Pepper had not managed to take more than five steps towards them before Iris jumped into his arms.

"Grandfather!" She shouted joyfully. "What are you doing here? You didn't say you were coming!"

The general chuckled. "I wanted to meet Krystal in person...and hopefully see little James. Is he not with you?"

"Oh, grandfather! You should have come to the house! He's there with the babysitter."

"Maybe next time, Iris." He turned his gaze to Fox. "Ah, Fox! I trust that the mission will go well?"

"Yes, General."

"And who is this human? Another new addition to the team?"

"I'm Claude, and I'm from Earth."

"I see. So this is what everyone was speaking of before..."

"You understand that it's impossible, right General?" Falco spoke up, hoping for support.

"I don't believe it's entirely impossible. Fox, you spoke of an incident with a human from Earth before, didn't you?"

"Hmm...yeah. We summoned someone from Earth with a special device a long time ago, but it was a brief visit."

"Well...what are you doing here?" Falco asked Claude. "You've got a sword...are you here to fight? The position for a new team member is filled, buddy."

"I invited him," Iris replied. "He's just visiting."

"The world is dangerous. A lone human would be better off armed," Pepper said, finally dismissing the conversation. "I'll leave you all to your mission. I look forward to your return."

"Don't forget to come by the house and see James!" Iris called out to Pepper as he entered his flagship and piloted it out of the Great Fox. She turned to Claude and grinned, "So, you want a tour?"

* * *

"The Great Fox is a lot bigger than I thought it would be," Claude said, mostly to himself. 

"Heehee, I said the same thing to myself my first time on here too!" Iris said, her youthful vibe radiating through the corridor they were walking through. Despite recently giving birth to a child, and having a guy whose job as a mercenary constantly put his life in danger, she seemed as cheery and carefree as ever, with no stress in sight.

"So...what's up with Krystal?" Claude asked, the previous events replaying in his mind.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Iris uttered innocently. She had an idea what he was getting at, but tried not to let on.

"I saw that look you made earlier when she introduced herself."

Iris sighed, "Well...she's a seductive little heifer. She flirts with all of the guys, and you should see the way she looks at Fox. She tries so hard to bring attention to herself. It's bad enough that she's blue, but she has to tell everyone about her little sob-story. 'boo-hoo, I'm the sole survivor of my planet.' Cerinia? I've never even heard of a planet called Cerinia! Have you!"

Before Claude could even reply to the question, Iris continued on her rant, "And did you see what she was wearing on the Dinosaur Planet? Really, that skank should learn how to wear more than two strands of thread!"

"But she's got a uniform now," Claude defended, as Krystal wasn't around to stop the assault herself

"Yeah, because she's required to wear one. And it's skin tight too!" she declared. "Sometimes, I just want to take a long, sharp knife with fresh, cold steel and slash her neck, then pour her blood into a bucket and dump it on her, staining her blue fur red."

"..."

So maybe that's how she dealt with the stress.

"What?" Iris giggled. "Sometimes I get worked up, especially when Krystal is the subject."

The door they were approaching at the end of the hall opened automatically as if expecting them. As they entered, Iris threw her arms out and announced, "And here it is, Starfox Central!" She seemed as if the previous conversation had never happened.

"...Starfox Central?" Fox inquired from his seat, the rest of the team assembled there as well. From the view through the glass, Claude could see that they were in space. A large nebula forming a 'Y' was off in the distance.

"Hey, I was just trying to make the command deck sound fancy. It's not like you guys actually do anything with it."

"Hey," Claude spoke up, "so what exactly is this mission? And where's Kirby?" As if on queue, Kirby collapsed from a spinning chair, and looked up with a sickly expression.

"Uh, what were you doing?"

"Hey, I was bored...and it's not like there was anything better to do! I've already seen the Great Fox!"

"Yeah but...spinning the chair?"

Kirby looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

"I'd like to hear the exact details of this mission myself," Iris spoke, shooting a glare at an unaware Krystal. When the blue vixen turned from her seat and made eye contact, Iris walked over to where Fox was sitting and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and smirked. Krystal seemed unaffected.

"Ah, yes...the mission...in Sector Y...which is where we're going...to...uh..." Peppy continued to wrack his brain and got no results.

Falco chuckled. "A Cornerian cargo ship was attacked and raided. The thieves are still in the area so we're going to blast 'em and get the stolen goods back."

"Am I really getting that old?" the hare asked.

"You might want to actually retire this time, old man," Falco said with another chuckle.

"How long do you think it'll take? I told the babysitter that we wouldn't be long, and I already miss our **_son_**," Iris emphasized, shooting another look in Krystal's general direction.

"Fox, we have an INCOMING TRANSMISSION!" Slippy screamed from his position, the sound waves produced by his high-pitched and potent vocal cords caused the room to vibrate and everyone to shield their ears as best they could.

Falco, who had fallen out his seat from the sonic scream, said angrily from his spot on the floor, "Geez, Slip'! What have we told you about raising your voice in the Great Fox?"

"You said 'don't,' right?" Slippy whispered as low as possible in sympathy when he realized the damage he had done. "Sorry..."

Falco regained his posture on his seat. "Just let ROB handle the transmissions in the future..."

"So who's the message from?" Fox said, massaging his aching, ringing ears.

"It's from Samus Aran," Slippy whispered.

"What?" Fox asked a bit irritated as his ears still rang, unable to hear too clearly at the moment. Having lived with Slippy this long, he felt that his body should have built some type of resistance to the voice. Or at least he should have gone deaf by now.

"I said, IT'S FRO-Urgh!"

Krystal, who had been nearest, delivered a swift kick to the face before Slippy could deliver another hellish scream. He slumped over and she pushed him out of the chair and took over his seat.

"Thanks Krystal," Fox said, mentally rolling his eyes at Slippy's mistake and completely oblivious of the glare emanating from the vixen behind him. "So who's it from again?"

"Samus Aran," Krystal said. Iris growled, as she swore it was in one of the most flirtatious tones she had ever heard.

"Bring her up."

A transparent window appeared from thin air and the armor clad upper body of Samus Aran was visible. She was silent for a few seconds. No one could quite see what she was doing or thinking behind that green visor, but it was assumed that she was surveying the room...and the people that were in it. Realizing this, Claude tried to fix his new hair and adjust his clothes, and gave one of his most dashing smiles. He wanted to give a good impression to one of his favorite video game characters.

"Did you hear the news? Or did you at least see it?" She asked abruptly, her tone quite serious. Then again, there was hardly a joking moment when it came to Samus.

"We'd be hard pressed to hear anything with Slippy here," Falco commented, followed by a groan from Slippy.

"What news?" Fox asked. He didn't like the way she was avoiding revealing exactly what she was talking about.

"Saffron City. It...well, I have a video of what happened. See for yourselves." Her image was replaced with a video of a panned out Saffron City. Things seemed quite normal, until the sky darkened and rippled, and a hole emerged as if someone had tore into the sky itself. A large beam of light poured out of the hole and burrow into the center of the city, illuminating the ground beneath it before erupting into a wide scale explosion that sounded as if several thousand fireworks had been going off all at once. When the light of the blast and the dust cloud left behind receded, the city was in total ruins.

"What...the hell?" Fox was at a loss for anymore words, as was the rest of the crew.

"Exactly," Samus replied as her image returned. "No one knows what happened, how, or why. The strangest thing about the incident is that...there were no casualties."

"How is that possible?" Krystal thought aloud.

"While the city was demolished, the people were unaffected. I don't know what to make of this, but I believe this is a warning. A warning for a much greater catastrophe in tow..."

"Fox, what are we going to do?" Iris said worriedly, clutching his arm.

"Damn," Fox muttered, slamming his fist on the armrest. "We don't have time for this..." It seemed as if suddenly the weight of the world was dropped onto his shoulders as everyone, guests and crew alike, looked to him for an answer.

* * *

A clawed foot kicked the small hut's door open, casting light on the green Yoshi, who was absorbed in the internet provided by the computer before him. The foot's owner, a scaly blue Yoshi, stormed in. 

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" Boshi cried out, stamping his foot.

"Actually, I was trying to ignore you," Yoshi snapped, not bothering to turn away from the monitor screen.

The lack of attention caused Boshi to snarl before dashing over to Yoshi and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Just how many humans do you plan to bring here?" The blue dinosaur screamed in his face, shaking him wildly.

Yoshi pushed him away with one motion. "What are you talking about? Claude already left with Kirby. It's not hard to see a star shoot up from the village, but then again, if you ever took off those shades, you might see something once in awhile. Don't kid yourself with fancy attire. I'm the only one here that rocks."

Boshi growled. Not letting his temper get the best of him, he ignored Yoshi's snide comments. "Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about!"

Yoshi spotted movement through the doorway of the hut. He went to investigate, with Boshi on his heels, to discover that it was Shyla waiting outside.

"Shyla, do you know what Boshi's talking about?"

The large dinosaur nodded her head before saying, in her deep, booming voice, "There's another human, over there..." She pointed to the other side of the Yoshi village. There, on the edge of the village, almost hidden by the shade of the forest behind him, was a lone figure. A few Yoshi's keeping their distance were murmuring and pointing in his direction. They were becoming uncomfortable with this particular visitor. He had a much different demeanor than the friendly human whom visited earlier.

"He's been standing there like that for a few minutes now, like he's waiting for something," Shyla continued.

"One human was really pushing it, Yoshi! But two...! This isn't a zoo. You can't just bring anyone here to watch us like this!" Boshi declared with balled fists.

Yoshi ignored Boshi's ranting and squinted his eyes, trying to recognize the unfamiliar person.

"Who the hell is that?" he finally deduced.

Boshi's blue, scaly face whitened behind the shades. "You mean...you really _don't_ know who that is?"

Yoshi rolled his eyes. "I was in the hut the entire time. I didn't even know he was here until you said something about him."

"Uh, hey...he's doing something," Shyla warned, eying back and forth nervously.

Sure enough, the mystery man reached behind his back and revealed his weapon.

"That's a big damn gun!" Yoshi and Boshi said in unison.

The Yoshi populace began to flee and scream as the man steadied his aim and shot into the crowd.

* * *

_And that ends part two of Babies & Heifers. if you think you know who the mystery Gunman is, you probably don't. This is his first appearance in the story, period. But here's a hint: "Gunmetal Action."_


	7. Chapter 7: Operation Preparation

**Chapter 7:**_Operation Preparation_

Kirby looked around. The room had been quiet not long after Samus showed the footage of the Saffron City catastrophe. No one knew quite what to do or say.

"Hey, Kirby," Claude spoke up, cutting through the silence. "Didn't that look familiar?"

Kirby looked puzzled at first, but his face suddenly lit up with enlightenment. "You know...it kinda did! Samus, when did this happen?"

"Around ninety minutes ago...why?" Samus inquired.

"When we were on our way to Corneria City, we saw the sky ripple sorta like in the video! I think we saw it right before it happened!" Kirby was excited now, hoping this piece of information would lead to a break in the case.

"I'll definitely keep that in mind when I begin the investigation," Samus said. "I'm on my way to the Saffron ruins now..." A computer sounded on Samus's end of the transmission. "And now I'm getting a transmission too."

Another video window appeared next to Samus's, this one with the distressed face of Yoshi.

"Samus!" He cried out. "You told me to contact you with this computer in an emergency, and this is one! I need help, now!"

"...are you spreading rumors about Zelda again?" Had her face been visible through the visor, he would have seen the incredulous look upon it. "I'm not saving you from her again."

The dinosaur looked around nervously. "No, I'm serious!"

"Well we're in the middle of something important." For the first time, Yoshi noticed the second window and the Starfox team within it. "There was an incident at Saffron City, and I'm going to investigate."

"You don't understand! We need help now!"

"We?" Yoshi, what's happening?" Iris asked, a feeling of fear building up inside of her.

"The village is being attacked by a madman!" There was a faint sound of an explosion and the hut Yoshi had been taking cover in began to shake violently.

"Who's attacking? And why?" Samus seemed much more alert now, and sat closer towards the window, as if watching the climax of a movie play out right before her.

"I don't know! He just came out of no where and started shooting at us!"

"Well were you spreading rumors about _him_?" She joked.

"Samus, this is serious! Please!" Yoshi pleaded.

Samus was taken aback. As long as she had known Yoshi, she had never seen such a look of distress and desperation on his face or in his eyes, nor had she heard him plead in such a way. It wasn't selfish or sarcastic: it was a true cry for help, not just for himself, but his people. Her softer, caring side got the best of her and she mentally made her decision near instantly.

"I'm on my way," she said. "What about you guys?" Like before, all eyes were on Fox again.

"We were on a mission..."

"Oh, come on!" Yoshi pointed accusingly. "You've got like, eight people in there. Bring your crew. Bring Kirby. Bring Claude. Heck, give Iris a gun if you have to!"

"Fox...stolen goods can be recovered, but lives can't." Iris looked Fox deep in his eyes, hoping for some hint of an answer. He looked away. He had just gotten his life stable enough to lead his team on missions again, and now people were already asking for his help.

"Alright, alright," he said. "Change course to Yoshi's Island."

"Yoshi, it's dangerous to stay in that one spot," Samus warned. "Cut the transmission and get out of there as soon as possible."

Before Yoshi could reply, another explosion sounded, this time much closer than before. Yoshi's image disappeared as his transmission was unwillingly cut. There was a short moment of silence before Samus spoke again. "See you there."

Her transmission was gone as well.

* * *

The Great Fox had been filled with hustle and bustle the entire trip. Things became even more hectic when it arrived at the island and to the sight of a burning patch of forest with thick clouds of smoke erupting from the blazing trees.

"How horrible..." Iris whispered to herself from her position at a window.

"So no one knows who did it?" Claude asked, appearing beside her.

"No...I'd really like to know who'd do such a thing, and attack the Yoshies...they're all so nice and peaceful." Iris sighed and looked towards Fox, who had entered the room with a Blaster in his hand. He began giving orders to all of his crew.

"Peppy, I want you to stay here with ROB and get the ship landed on the outskirts of the forest. We may need to pick up survivors. Falco, you get in your Arwing and survey things from the sky. Iris, you stay here with Peppy." Iris frowned, but knew that she would be of no use on the battlefield, and chose not to protest.

"Krystal and I will go on foot. Slippy, don't say anything. At all."

"But..." Slippy began, but was cut off by Fox.

"**At all,**" Fox commanded. Slippy pouted in his seat.

"What about us?" Kirby asked, rocking back and forth on his two feet. "We're not here for nothing!"

"Both of you stay here."

"I knew he would say that," Claude told Kirby. Kirby nodded in agreement. Arguing would simply deplete time they didn't have.

The Great Fox landed and Falco took to the skies in his Arwing. Fox and Krystal exited with weapons in tow, followed by Iris, Kirby, and Claude.

"Fox, be careful!" Iris called out. Fox waved to her and disappeared into the depths of the forest with Krystal.

Claude folded his arms. "Well, this is goin' to be boring."

"Maybe not," Kirby replied, pointing to the gunship that appeared over the trees and landed near the much larger Great Fox. Samus Aran emerged from within it and approached the trio.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked.

"Fox took _that woman_ with him into the forest," Iris hissed with narrowed eyes. Samus turned to Kirby, confused.

"She means Krystal, the newest member of their team," Kirby informed her while peering into the forest. "I can't see them anymore. They must be pretty deep inside now."

"And you are...?" Samus inquired the young man, who she had noticed on the Great Fox during the transmission.

"I'm Claude-"

"And he's from Earth!" Kirby chimed in as always.

"...really?" Samus's thoughts were once again well hidden by her visor.

"I won a contest and the prize was using the Digital World Animator Machine to come here," he enlightened her.

"I knew you looked a little familiar. That contest was broadcasted here. That's quite a prize...I'm not sure what they were thinking, but it's still quite a prize." She turned around and began scanning the area with her visor. When she found no results, she then asked "Any sign of the culprit responsible for the attack?"

"Nope! We've just been standing here since Fox and Krystal left!" Kirby said, maybe a little too enthusiastically considering the situation.

"You all look ready for battle," she said, noticing Claude's sword.

"Yeah, well, Fox told us to stay here..." Iris sighed.

"He shoulda let me go with 'em," Claude stated, resting a hand on his sword.

"Really?" Samus inquired. "So what are you good at?"

"I made a grown man cry on a message board once," Claude stated proudly.

"..."

"What? It's the truth." He didn't like her silence.

"...I see why he told you to stay behind," she said under her breath, then turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Kirby called out to Samus's back, having realized that she was now heading into the forest as well.

"Judging from the damage on the forest, this guy is packing serious firepower. Fox is probably going to need backup."

"But...hey!" It was too late. She had already disappeared between the encompassing trees.

The next ten minutes had been, just as Claude predicted, boring. He and Kirby had tried to strike up conversations, only to somehow have them diverted by Iris into rants about how much Krystal sucks. After awhile, they had given up, and sat outside of the Great Fox in silence, enjoying the nice weather and cool sea breeze that swept the island. Soon afterwards, Claude became restless and began to pace around, before stopping and declaring, "I'm goin' in."

"What?" Kirby and Iris replied in unison.

"I didn't come all the way to the Nintendoverse just to sit around all day."

"But you didn't even know you were coming here when you woke up this morning!" Kirby proclaimed.

Claude ignored him, "I came here for the experience. What video game doesn't let you knock the bad guys around?"

"Hey, if you're going, I'm going too!" Iris exclaimed, then smirked as she reached behind her back and revealed a Blaster of her own, rubbing her hand along it affectionately. Before anyone could ask, she had already begun to explain, "My grandfather taught me how to use one of these when I was younger, and Fox is helping me improve my aim now. I just can't guarantee that I won't shoot anything blue on sight." Her smirk almost seemed to become twisted afterwards. Claude and Kirby shared a nervous glance.

"Hey, we all can't go and fight!" Kirby declared. "What about survivors? Who's going to direct them?"

"Then you can stay here since you're volunteering," Claude said.

"I'm not volunteering!"

"Hey, YOU!" Iris commanded. "Stop right there!" She aimed the Blaster towards the figure emerging from the forest. When it didn't stop and she saw the first sight of blue, she fired. The shot missed and hit a tree inches away, and the figure wailed before throwing itself to the ground in defense.

"Who was that?" Iris questioned. "Was it Krystal?"

"No, it's...Boshi?" Claude said uncertainly.

The blue Yoshi searched the grass, covering his eyes before he found his shades and placed them in their rightful spot atop his large snout. "Hey, lady! Watch who yer shootin' at!" He took his time getting up and strutting over to them with a pompous grin, as if he had cheated death itself.

"Well, didn't you see me? Maybe if you took those shades off, you could!" Iris scolded.

"Hey, lay off the shades!" Boshi growled, readjusting them.

"What are you doing here? Where's all the other Yoshies?" Kirby couldn't help but ask. Boshi showing up alone was quite odd considering how many Yoshies lived in the village.

"Everyone scattered when our village was attacked by that human." Boshi slammed a balled fist into his palm. "Damn him!"

"So where's Yoshi? And Shyla?"

"Yoshi said something about getting help and ran to one of the huts before we were separated by a blast. Shyla, I'm not too sure about. They would probably turn up at the shelter where everyone else is."

Iris became attentive. "Wait, there's a shelter?" Boshi nodded.

"In a clearing not far from here is a pipe that leads into a cavern. It's our emergency shelter for disastrous situations. I told all of 'em not to go there, but they probably didn't listen, and that's why I ended up here alone. The problem is...the way in is the only way out. If he found them, they'd be sitting Yoshies." Boshi showed his clear disgust of the situation by folding his arms and scowling at no one in particular.

"Wow, this is really bad!" Kirby exclaimed, looking up towards his taller companions. "Someone has to get those Yoshies away from that area!"

Without a second thought, Claude dashed into the forest.

"Hey! Not without me!" Iris shouted, following after him.

Kirby began to give chase too when heard Boshi cry out, "What about me?" Kirby stopped and watched his companions disappear into the darkness. Someone had to stay behind with Boshi at the Great Fox, and it seemed like it would be him.

* * *

Iris caught up to Claude in their mad dash through the forest.

"Humans are slow," she joked before they stopped abruptly.

"Did you hear that?" Claude knelt down and Iris followed, as they crept through the trees and into some bushes, peering out onto a clearing. A large green warp pipe was embedded into the ground and a small group of Yoshies were gathered around it. The familiar entity known as Shyla climbed out of the pipe. Seeing as they were friendly faces, Claude and Iris stepped out into the clearing.

"AAAAAaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

They were greeted with the frightened scream of a yellow Yoshi.

"Hey, hey! We're friends, not foes!" Iris said defensively, holding her hands up.

"AAAAAaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" the Yoshi screamed again at the sight of the Blaster in one of Iris's hands.

Claude rolled his eyes and said, "Stop screaming. We're not going to hurt you."

"It's okay...they're telling the truth," Shyla said in a soft but prominent voice. She stepped forward and asked, "Have you seen Yoshi?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Claude said. Shyla's heart sank, and it showed on her face.

"So is this where all the Yoshies are?" Iris asked, peering into the pipe.

"Most of them are here...I'm keeping a lookout, and I was hoping he would come..."

Seeing that Shyla's spirits were down, Claude made an offer. "How about this: I'll go look for him for you, alright?"

"Okay..." She said, though it didn't seem to console her much. It looked like she would tear up at any minute.

"You can't get rid of me that easily!" Iris declared, jumping in front of Claude.

"But somebody's gotta lead the Yoshies back to the Great Fox before they're seen here. And if Fox finds out you're out here..."

He was right. As much as she wanted to help Fox out in the field, she would most likely get in the way, or worse. She was not well versed in this type of combat. Of course...neither was Claude.

"Alright, alright...but what about you?" She said, a bit torn over her decision.

"I'm not lookin' for trouble, just for Yoshi."

"In a way, that _is_ looking for trouble, you know. So, do you want my Blaster?"

Claude revealed the silver Phase Gun in his pocket. "I've got somethin' of my own."

Upon the sight of yet another weapon, the yellow Yoshi screamed...again.

"AAAAAaaaaaa-" the yoshi was cut off by a slap to the face from a red yoshi. "Shut up already!" he said fiercely. The yellow yoshi smiled sheepishly, rubbing the imprint on its face.

After an awkward silence, Iris finally said, "Alright, don't get yourself killed on your tour!"

"If anyone's going to get killed, it won't be me!" Claude said confidently, running into the darkness of the forest once again. Iris folded her arms and smiled, watching him until she could see no longer. If only she would have known the day she would be having when she woke up.

"Alright guys," she finally said, clapping her hands together to get the Yoshies' attention. "Get all of your friends and family from the shelter. We're going to a safer place."

"I'll stay here, in case anyone else shows up," Shyla said, though the look in her eyes was one of distance.

"Okay, just...don't stay out here too long by yourself. Yoshi will turn up eventually." She looked over her shoulder and noticed that the Yoshies were dragging their feet. "Quickly!" She said, "We could be in danger right now!"

The Yoshies bolted into the pipe in response, gathering the rest of their kin for a mass exodus.

* * *

_This chapter was originally going to be longer...too long for my likings, so I once again split another chapter. The fight scene that would end this one, has now become Chapter 8 itself, and should give a bit more insight on this 'mystery,' though with the story's summary, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out._  



	8. Chapter 8: ARMs

_I haven't had internet for about the past couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean that I stopped writing. I'm currently writing chapter 12 and have most of 13 written in my head, and now that I've got internet back, I can post all the chapters I have in backlog...not that I'd be handing out too much of a good thing all at once. You'll just have to settle for chapter 8 for now, which features the first real fight scene and a few character's who's identities aren't revealed just yet...but I've left plenty of hints about them anyway. Really, it depends on if you've played that particular gme or not._

**Chapter 8:**_ A.R.M.s_

Claude had slowed from a run to a jog, and eventually to a walk as the dense forest became hard to see in. The darkness was engulfing, and he carefully planted his foot with each step after almost tripping over the large roots of a tree. The treetops were tightly knit together to form a sort of wall of darkness that no sunlight could penetrate. He found the situation a bit ironic because he had never seen Yoshi's Island portrayed in such a dark light. It was normally as sickeningly happy as Dreamland.

As the crunching of leaves and twigs under his boots gave off the only audible sound, Claude began to realize that, for the first time since he arrived, he was completely alone. His unabashed confidence began to wane a little with the very thought, and he shrugged it off by concentrating on the one thing directing him in the darkness: an orange glow. Part of the forest was in a blaze, and it would without a doubt lead him to the ruins of the Yoshi Village.

As he approached, he could make out and even hear the roaring flames. The area was lit with an orange hue by the blaze. Feeling the heat, Claude stopped and looked around, and gaped at what he saw.

To his direct right, where there should have been trees, were fragmented stumps, as if something ripped right through this concentrated area; an explosion of some sort. Feeling uneasy, he began to move again, but stopped once more when he heard someone's muffled cries.

The voice was familiar.

Claude ran into the direction of the voice, hoping he wasn't too late. It was right towards the flames where he had heard it. He didn't get far before colliding with someone and being tackled to the ground. He kicked the figure off and fumbled through the grass for his fallen Phase Gun, grabbing it and rolling into a crouched position, pointing it at his attacker.

"Jeez, why is everyone trying to shoot me!" the figure cried out.

"...Yoshi?" Claude said, lowering the Phase Gun.

"Why do you sound surprised? I do live in this forest, you know," he said, standing up and wiping dirt and grass off as if oblivious to the danger in the area.

"Wait, what's going on? Who are you runnin' from?" Claude looked around for any other signs of life, and saw none.

"Not out in the open!" Yoshi said, pulling Claude down behind the moss-ridden log of a fallen tree. "He'll see us!" He whined.

"Who?" Claude said, looking over the tree as if someone would show up at any minute. When he saw no one, he leaned back against it.

"I don't know who he is! I just know he attacked the village!" Yoshi began eying Claude suspiciously. There was an odd glint in his eye, most likely caused by the reflection of the flames licking at the forest behind them. Without warning, he snatched the Phase Gun away. "I think I'll be needing this more than you."

Claude grabbed it back. "Get your own Phase Gun," he snapped.

Yoshi narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to ask you nicely, as someone who knows how to handle the situation," he whispered somberly. "GIMME THE DAMN GUN!" He reached for it, and they struggled, rolling through the grass before stopping when they both noticed the figure looming over the log.

They stared for a moment, before Yoshi finally said, "What are you waiting for? Shoot! SHOOT!"

"You've got the gun!" Claude said, reaching for his sword instead.

"Oh..." He aimed and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. The figure didn't move, instead, he looked down upon them as a lifeless statue, giving no signs of movement or acknowledgement. With the lighting of the dancing flames, Claude could have sworn he could make out some facial features in the split second that light chased away the shadows shrouding the man's presence, and the emotionless expression made it all the more ominous.

"What's wrong with this thing?" Yoshi complained, slapping it against his palm in frustration.

"Did you turn it on?" Claude said, never letting his eyes leave their assailant.

Yoshi scowled as he turned the dial on the side of the gun. It whined to life and the meter on the side of the weapon indicating its energy shifted from a dull green to neon green. With an arrogant smirk, the dinosaur aimed and fired, sending a blue laser whizzing by the man's head. When the man ran for cover, Yoshi took advantage of the situation and released a volley of lasers upon him.

"Hahaha! Take it! TAKE IT LIKE YOU WANT IT!" He screamed, firing constantly upon the tree the man had taken cover behind until Claude approached and pushed the gun down.

"Okay, first of all, don't ever say anything like that again. Second, stop wastin' shots 'cause you're not even hitting him!"

Yoshi looked up to him with an annoyed expression. "Oh really? I'd like to see you do better!" he challenged.

The mystery Gunman, however, had different plans, revealing his form slightly from behind the tree and taking aim with his destructive Hand Cannon, firing a round at the duo. They both jumped in opposite directions as the shot made contact with the ground, exploding instantly and sending them both farther through the air than intended. While Claude landed in the grass, Yoshi smacked into a tree and landed on his back. The Gunman stood his ground, not sure if his victims were quite defeated yet. His facial expression was unreadable when both Claude and Yoshi rose from the ground.

"Hey, you bastard! Do you know who you're shooting at?" Yoshi complained, pointing at him accusingly. "You can't treat me like that! _I rock!_"

The Gunman fired again, sending a slightly charred Yoshi sailing through the air and over Claude's head. Shouting obscenities at the Gunman upon recovery, Yoshi found himself to be the center of the man's attacks, narrowly escaping several explosive shots from the Hand Cannon. Claude, amidst the chaos, grabbed the fallen Phase Gun and trained it upon his opponent.

"Hey," he said, getting the Gunman's attention. "You forgot about me."

The Gunman took this as a taunt and refocused his attack on the Visitor from Earth. They waited for the other to attack, guns focused intensely on their target. The standoff seemed to last for minutes until Yoshi rolled off of his back and sat up, cracking a few twigs in the process. The sudden awareness of sound caused both to react simultaneous, shooting at one another at the same moment.

The Phase Gun was faster.

The blue laser collided with the Hand Cannon's own shot, causing it to explode midair and send the Gunman flying onto his back.

"How about _that_," Claude said triumphantly.

"Did you get him?" Yoshi asked, showing up beside Claude. Noticing that the Gunman was down, all fear was washed away and he gave a haughty laugh, as if he himself had taken care of the situation.

Their aggressor recovered, jumping to his feet quickly. He looked at the smoking remainders of the gun in his grasp, the barrel having been blow apart from the blast. He tossed it, as it was a lost cause.

"Hah, what are you going to shoot us with now?" Yoshi teased.

The Gunman pulled out another gun from seemingly nowhere. He held it with both arms and it responded with the high-pitched whine of an oncoming attack. A blue globe of energy formed on the tip of the gun, giving way to a volley of rainbow colored lasers just as Claude and Yoshi jumped to the ground in defense.

"You just had to say somethin' like that!" Claude yelled over the roar of laser fire, a red beam narrowly missing his shoulder.

The lasers tore through the forest with an unmatched fury, leaving behind explosions of splintered wood from the unfortunate trees that happened to be part of this makeshift battlefield. Feeling that it was safe once all fire had ceased, the duo was once again on their feet, only to discover the Gunman's Prism Laser charging for another shot. Just as the blue globe was about to release another onslaught, a blue chain of energy wrapped around the Gunman's leg and whipped him through the air. As the man hit a tree, the energy chain retracted into the arm cannon of Samus Aran, who revealed herself from the shadows.

"Are you two okay?" She asked, the concern clear in her voice.

"It's about time!" Yoshi declared ungratefully.

"You're welcome" she replied, expecting that answer.

"How'd you find us?" Claude asked.

"When I saw a rainbow tearing through the forest, I got a little suspicious, so I followed the trail of destruction to its source." She turned to find the Gunman beginning to stir from his position on the ground. "I think now would be a good idea for the two of you to escape."

Yoshi turned and had already begun making his getaway when Claude grabbed him. "We're not going to leave you here to fight him by yourself, right Yoshi?"

"What? Screw that!" The dinosaur broke free of his grasp.

"Look, Claude, I know you want to help..." Samus said, trying to think of the right words to say. "But you have to understand, it's a different circumstance for you. You have friends and family in your dimension, and I'm sure they wouldn't want you to get hurt. Besides, I've handled much bigger threats than this."

Claude sighed, realizing Samus was right. "Alright, but watch out. I mean, who knows how many guns that guy's got?"

Claude fled with Yoshi, but they didn't get far before Yoshi stopped in his tracks, almost causing Claude to topple over him.

"What did you stop for?" Claude said irately. Yoshi only pointed ahead in response.

There was another man. From the light of the flames, they could clearly make out the brown coat he wore. Claude narrowed his eyes when the man knelt into a battle stance, his face slightly visible.

"I knew it," he whispered. He grabbed Yoshi and jumped to the ground just as the man revealed and swung his hidden sword in a wide arc, a crescent orange shockwave passing over them in the process.

"Who are all of these people?" Yoshi cried out from his position on the ground.

Claude jumped up, Phase Gun in hand, and opened fire.

Meanwhile, Samus had her own battle to deal with. The Gunman was preparing another assault with the Prism Laser. She quickly reacted with the Grapple Beam, shooting out the familiar energy chain. It latched onto the gun and recoiled. Samus caught the airborne weapon with her free hand.

"I don't think you'll be needing this," she said, tossing the Prism Laser into the air and blowing it to pieces with a missile.

Her opponent seemed unfazed. He reached back and produced yet another weapon: A new Hand Cannon, and opened fire on her. He soon found her to be quite agile, as she used trees to wall jump and flip through the air, avoiding each shot like a pro. She unfurled midair and let loose a barrage of Power Beam shots, raining down on the Gunman like a hailstorm of heat. He became mobile as well, delivering shots at the still airborne Samus, who kept herself afloat with graceful leaps from the multitude of trees and occasionally, what seemed like thin air.

Samus knew she needed a more potent strategy, and began charging her Seeker Launcher. A globe of energy of her own appeared at the tip of the arm cannon, and exploded into five Seeker Missiles that swirled about before crashing at the feet of their target, sending him through the air and onto his back. Unlike matches during Super Smash Bros. tournaments, she was not restricted to a predetermined moveset, and thus was free to use every weapon and ability in her arsenal.

Samus landed on the ground for the first time since she started her air assault. She knew a defeat couldn't have been this easy, and instead took advantage of her adversary's temporary state to scan him with her visor, pressing two armor-clad fingers to the side of her helmet.

'No data found.'

'_No data found? I have information on everything in this universe!' _she thought to herself, the mystery growing deeper. The immeasurable amounts of encyclopedia-like info stored in her own personal databases, combined with access to all of the galaxy's most reputable celestial archives, had no information on this person's identity or origins. The very thought of where this man came from and his intentions gave Samus an involuntary shudder. She had heard rumors...most of which she had dismissed due to absurdity.

A shot of the Phase Gun wizzed by, snapping her attention back to the situation. She witnessed the battle against the second assailant. Claude delivered shot after shot, only for the Swordsman to deflect each laser with his sword. Soon enough, Yoshi joined in by hurling spotted eggs, which were smashed by the blade with inhuman speed.

A stalemate ensued, and neither side moved. The Swordsman sheathed his sword, but kept his hand on the hilt of the blade. Claude raised a brow.

'_I know that stance..._'

"Coming to your senses and giving up, are you?" Yoshi said arrogantly with an equally arrogant smile on his face, placing his hands upon his scaly hips.

"Get down, fool!" Claude yelled, grabbing Yoshi and diving to the ground just as a crescent shockwave soared over them.

"I knew it..." Claude muttered to himself, gaining an odd look from Yoshi. They looked up, only to find a distant gaze in the Swordsman's eyes. It was as if he didn't even realize that they were there anymore, and was instead fixated with his partner's battle...if it could even be called a battle.

Samus planted her foot on the fallen Gunman's arm as he reached for his lost weapon. "Tell me! Who are you?" She demanded with authority, aiming her cannon at his head. She received a hateful glare in response. She had rarely seen that type of hatred in a person, and she could only wonder what she and the others could have done to earn such fiery revulsion from this man.

A shadow was cast over them, and she rolled out of the way instinctively, parrying the overhead slash from the Swordsman. He had made an incredible leap from his own battle, all the way over to theirs. The Gunman rose to his feet and rearmed himself with the Hand Cannon, and he took a stance beside his partner.

"Two on one? This should be interesting..." Samus said to no one in particular. The two mystery men shared a glance before jumping into action, the Gunman letting out a shot that Samus dodged easily. The Swordsman followed up behind her, preparing to swing his sword right before having the arm cannon slammed into his chest. He jumped away and regrouped with his partner, trading another look with him. They nodded in agreement this time and retried the same tactic.

Samus parried another shot from the Hand Cannon, curious as to why they'd pull such a stunt again since it didn't work the first time. She quickly got her answer, when the Swordsman didn't attack her, but instead turned to where Yoshi and Claude were standing and unsheathed his sword in the blink of an eye, sending another crescent shockwave straight towards them with his Sonic Buster attack.

'_Dammit, it was all a ploy!_'

Samus raced to her comrades, her Speed Booster ability starting to kick in just as an explosion from the Hand Cannon sent her leaping in another direction and right into their trap. The Swordsman struck with his sword covered in a blue aura. The blade pierced the armor and the sound of a miniature explosion went off with a brilliant flash of blue light, sending chest pieces of the armor bursting into every direction.

Samus fell.

Yoshi began to panic. The shockwave was upon them, but Claude didn't move. '_It's now or never,_' he thought to himself. The shockwave struck a dome of hexagons that appeared out of thin air and shielded the duo. Yoshi looked stupefied as the shield disappeared from wherever it came, but Claude wielded his Phase Gun, twisting the dial to full power and charging his opponents.

"I'll take you out with THIS!" He snarled uncharacteristically, aiming the gun as it charged for its greatest attack. It never came, for a hail of laser fire reached the mystery men first. Fox and Krystal appeared from the darkness of the forest, Blasters readied and charging.

The two men looked to each other once again, wordlessly coming to agreement, and fled into the darkness of the forest with more shots following them. It seemed that they had done enough damage for the moment.

Krystal gasped and covered her muzzle when she noticed the metallic body on the ground. They all surrounded Samus, and she tried to acknowledge them. She raised a hand towards the four faces knelt by her, until her suit's systems shut down and everything went black.

"Samus? Samus!"


	9. Chapter 9: Aftermath

_This is a short chapter, but at least some progress will be made story-wise, and things will have to calm down a bit after what happened in Chapter 8._

* * *

**Chapter 9:**_ Aftermath_

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Fox McCloud roared.

The three occupants of the seats before him all averted their eyes, either twiddling their thumbs or absently playing with articles of their own clothing. Fox growled, eyes darting from each figure before him.

"Well? Answer me!"

Iris could take the guilt no longer and looked Fox directly in his eyes. "I know you said to stay behind...but I wanted to help."

"Dammit Iris, you could have gotten yourself killed! Would you have liked it if only one our son's parents came home today?"

Iris looked down towards her lap, trying her best to avoid Fox's furious gaze now. "I know, but...all I did was take the Yoshies away from their shelter."

"That's not the point! And you..." Fox said, turning his gaze upon Claude, who was sitting next to Iris. "I told you specifically to stay with the Great Fox. That doesn't mean going off to get yourself killed!"

Claude folded his arms and looked away, "I told Shyla I would find Yoshi, and I did."

Fox opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off by Iris.

"Please Fox, don't be too angry with him," she pleaded. "He was the one that convinced me not to go fight in the forest."

"So he's got enough sense not to let you go into a warzone, but not enough to keep himself out?" Fox sighed and held a hand against his head. It felt as if a headache was on the verge of adding more stress to his day. "Why couldn't you all have just listened and stayed behind like I asked?"

"I listened, Fox!" a voice announced proudly from behind him. He turned to find Kirby's round form beaming up at him.

"Shut up."

"'kay."

"Well, I don't see why you're yelling at ME!" Yoshi complained from his seat. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You EXIST, that's what you did wrong!" Fox countered. Yoshi glowered.

"Hey, could ya keep it down a little, Fox? I'm not finished analyzing the suit yet," a painfully shrill voice said from behind the bed where the armored body of Samus Aran lay. Slippy Toad held a scanner in hand and ran it along the metallic body once again, focusing mainly on the damaged area near the chest.

'_You've got some nerve to complain about volume..._' Fox thought, but instead asked, "Any news on her condition?"

The toad turned off the gadget and set it on the table next to the bed. "I can't figure out this darned Chozo technology, but it seems as if the suit is repairing itself with time."

"Samus's suit is like a second skin, so if it's repairin' itself then her body should be healing too." Claude garnered a few stares after that. "What? I said I played the games."

"Well that's wonderful news!" Iris said. Just as she stood to check on Samus herself, the room shook violently and sent her tumbling back into her seat.

"Oh, what the hell is it now?" An annoyed Fox muttered under the sudden waves of panicked voices coming from outside of the room.

The voice of the eldest member of the Star Fox team echoed throughout the room. "Fox, you might want to come check this out!"

Fox raced out of the room accordingly, parrying and jumping over the heads of the countless rainbows of Yoshies that filled the corridors of the Great Fox. He cleared another group of Yoshies, sailing through the door and found Peppy. The old hare readjusted his glasses and stepped aside, showing Fox the radar.

"We picked up a fast moving vehicle for a split second, and then, **WHAM!** We were hit by something!" The hare explained.

Fox squinted at the image. "I know that vehicle..." he said to himself. "Peppy, I'm going out to investigate."

And investigate is exactly what the vulpine did, navigating through more crowds of Yoshies, '_Why did they have to take shelter here?_' echoing in his head the entire trip. He exited the docking bay and stepped out into the cool sea breeze of the island that brushed against his fur. His face contorted in disgust when his suspicions were confirmed. Captain Falcon climbed out of the wreckage of the Blue Falcon, which had firmly become one with the side of the Great Fox.

"Dammit, learn how to drive, moron," Fox chastised the racer/bounty hunter.

"Geez, no 'how are you' or, 'are you okay' to greet a friend?" Falcon asked, cleaning himself off.

"Die."

"I'll take that as a no," he said, looking around. "So is anybody else here?"

"Inside," Fox said, returning to the Great Fox. Captain Falcon followed him, leaving the wrecked Blue Falcon behind as he did so many times before. They swam through the multitude of Yoshies, though Falcon kept his questions to himself for the moment, until they finally reached the room where Samus was resting.

"Hey guys!" Falcon called happily to his friends, jumping into the room. Everyone looked to each other nervously, the violent quake from before now easily explained by his presence. "What's with all the Skittles in the hallways?"

"Um...they're Yoshies," Kirby said, casting another nervous glance around the room. "They come in different colors, you know."

"Really? I thought only Skittles did that," Falcon said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with a gloved hand. "Well, that's odd." He finally began to scope the room, and finally noticed Samus lying on the bed.

"Oh my god!" He yelled, running over to the bed. "Samus? Samus! What happened to my Armored Muffin?"

"Samus got beat up!" Yoshi announced obnoxiously loud from his seat.

"But...what...how...?" Captain Falcon was at a loss for words, and instead, gently gripped Samus's armor-clad hand and held it. "I...I...I should have been the one to **FILL YOUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIIIIIGHT!**"

"I'm not dead," sounded a familiar voice. "And I didn't get 'beat up'."

"Samus!" Falcon cried out happily as everyone gathered around the bed. Samus sat up and wrenched from a sharp spasm of pain.

"Hey, you should lie down!" Slippy advised her, attempting to guide her back down.

"I'm fine," the bounty huntress said, waving the toad away.

Captain Falcon couldn't help beaming like a giddy child. "I can't believe it. I thought that you were...so does that mean I** FILLED YOUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIII**-"

"Stop," Samus cut him off with a metallic finger to his lips. "I said that I wasn't dead."

"Samus, we're glad you're back with us!" Iris said joyfully. "We weren't sure how to resuscitate you, what with the armor and all..."

"So what happened while I was out?" Samus said, attempting to get off of the bed.

Falcon ran to her side and helped her. "What I'd like to know is what happened, period! When I got to Fox's house, you guys weren't there. If I hadn't tracked the Great Fox, I would have never found you!"

"Some guys attacked the Yoshi Village and we came to help!" Kirby said with a glum look on his face. "Those awful men destroyed it and set the forest on fire in the process!"

"I found Claude and Yoshi fighting one of them. I was caught off guard during the fight, with Claude and Yoshi as bait." Samus winced, as if talking about the incident caused her wound to respond with a sudden wave of pain.

"Maybe you should lie back down..." Captain Falcon pleaded.

"No, all I need to do is access my reserve tanks and I should be fine," Samus stated a little more sternly, not letting on that the earlier attack had left her a bit disoriented. She wasn't used to being the center of everyone's concern, and she didn't like it. She decided to bring the subject back on track. "So what happened after that? I saw the shockwave attack and..." She trailed off, her memory failing her beyond that moment.

"Claude did some kind of shield thingy, and Fox and the blue girl chased them away," Yoshi responded. "Not that I couldn't have handled the situation myself." He added on, getting a few skeptical looks in reply, and one angry glance since he had the audacity to mention Krystal, even if not by name.

"I led the Yoshies here after Boshi said that their own shelter would only be a deathtrap," Iris said, inwardly struggling not to rant about Krystal. "Shyla is scouting the area to see if the men are still here."

"So no one knows who the men were?" Captain Falcon asked, looking as confused as he usually did.

"My Scan Visor couldn't pick up a speck of info on the Gunner." Samus said, now going through her suit's internal database.

"Well, even from what little of the faces we saw, we couldn't identify them," Yoshi mentioned. "Right, Claude?" He was eying him suspiciously.

"What?" Claude was snapped out of whatever deep thought he was in, "Oh, yeah. Right." He returned to the depths of his own mind and sat back onto one of the chairs.

"He's been acting weird ever since the fight," Yoshi whispered to the rest of them. "I think he knows something. He kept saying 'I knew it.' And you know that when I suspect something, it must be true."

"You mean like that time you thought Zelda was really a man?" Samus said sarcastically.

"I didn't say that I thought she was a man, I said I thought she was genderless. And I still do. So Claude must be hiding something!"

Iris looked on in disbelief. "Well, what would he be hiding? And why?"

"Why don't we find out?" Yoshi said, leading the odd group.

The room grew suddenly darker, until Claude noticed that he was surrounded when he looked up to see what was wrong with the lights. "...what?"

"You know something about those two men, don't you?" Yoshi accused.

He raised a brow. "Why d'you think that?"

"If you know something Claude, please tell us," Samus said, pushing Yoshi back.

"Well...I wasn't really sure, but now I am," their Earth-born friend stated.

"Is it somebody you know?" Iris asked. "Are they...from Earth? You can tell us, we won't be angry."

"No, actually...they're from Sony."

* * *

_SEMI-CLIFFHANGER! I wanted to end it on that note, which is why this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. However, much more is promised to take place in Chapter 10. _

_Now that they have discovered the origins of their enemy, how will they react? And more importantly, what will they do? The exact identities of the assailants, the debut of a trio of characters who will prove to be nothing but trouble, as well as a capability of the DWAM will be accidentally discovered in the upcoming chapter._


	10. Chapter 10: Back to Earth!

_I had this done for awhile but didn't get around to posting it...there's been a sudden flood of essays due on a daily basis in college, and it's becoming more difficult to balance them with writing several fanfics at once. Still, I think the wait is worth it, since this was one of my favorite chapters to write so far and features the debut of a trio of mindless characters I've been long wanting to introduce into the story._**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 10:**_ Back to Earth!_

"They're...wah...huh?" Iris couldn't finish her sentence, and looked to Fox for support.

"Er...uh...yeah," Fox was equally at a loss for words. He finally cleared his brain from the shock and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I recognized them, right down to the way they fought," Claude stated firmly. He stood from his seat and said with confidence, "they're definitely from Sony."

"How the heck did Sony characters get here? And what do they want!?" Kirby was starting to panic. Out of all their insane adventures, this revelation was a curveball. "It can't be true!"

"But it all adds up," Samus defended Claude's answer, coming upon a revelation of her own. "When I scanned the Gunner, I received _absolutely no information whatsoever_ on him. With the extensive amount of data I have access to, I can identify info on everything in this universe...except for three people in particular. The two Sony characters, and...you, Claude."

Samus started to pace around the room as everyone watched her. It seemed that she was deep in her own thoughts, but was speaking them aloud. "Yes, it makes perfect sense now! The reason why I have no information on Claude is because he literally didn't exist in this dimension until today. The same must be true for these two Sony characters." She abruptly stopped and looked directly towards Claude. "Claude, you must tell us everything you know about these two people. It may be a long shot, but I think they may be connected with the Saffron City incident."

"What incident?" Captain Falcon asked, but was shushed by Iris.

"Well, I have to think about it for a minute," Claude said, racking his brain. "My memory's a little rusty, but the Gunman was Rudy and the Swordsman was Jack. They're from the game 'Wild ARMs,' but they're the good guys so it doesn't make sense that they would just up and attack a village."

"Wait, how do you know all of this?" Yoshi asked, skeptical of the entire situation.

"I have a Playstation, you know," Claude said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can't be a hardcore gamer and only have one game console. It's just not possible."

"What!? Traitor!" Yoshi screamed, pointing at Claude accusingly.

The sound of metal smacking against scales echoed through the room.

"Hey!" Yoshi complained, rubbing his sore snout. "I thought we got over this slapping thing!"

"Shhh! Let him finish!" Samus commanded. Yoshi looked towards the floor and grumbled, but he complied.

"Rudy specializes in using ARMs," Claude continued, "which was all of those different guns he was using in the fight. Jack uses 'Fast Draw' techniques, which is kinda like Quick Draw but with swords. That move Jack used on you was Psycho Crack. It confuses people if it don't kill 'em first."

"With this information, we may stand a fighting chance," Samus said, entering new info into her personal database.

"You're kidding, right?" Yoshi said mockingly to Samus. "We don't know where they are now, when they got here, and HOW they got here! We don't even know if there are more of them!"

"I can find out!" Claude announced. "The DWA Machine is like a big computer. I can get Mr. Miyamoto to check the logs and see exactly what happened when, and how. I mean, it's gotta have logs, right?"

"That's a good idea, Claude," Samus commended him. "But how do you plan to get back to Earth?"

"All I have to do is say the magic words and I'm back on Earth," Claude said.

"Wait, you traitor! You're not going anywhere!" Yoshi screamed. "Repent!"

"**Exit Command**," Claude said firmly after stepping away from the group. Near instantly, his body emitted a bright light and began to turn into streams of data.

"No, REPENT!" Yoshi proclaimed again, this time diving for the 'traitor.' But Claude's transformation was nearly complete, and seconds later, the data shot through the ceiling of the Great Fox and into the skies, leaving a brilliant flash of light in the room. Once the lighting returned to normal, Samus began scoping the room, when she realized what happened.

"...where did he go...?"

"Back to Earth, I guess," Iris said.

"No, I mean..." Samus gestured ahead.

"...oh."

* * *

The home of the DWA Machine was visited with life again as Claude materialized in the same tube he used to leave his own dimension. One quick look of the small room told him that Miyamoto wasn't around, as it was empty save for the machine's components and the humming of the mechanism at work. He began to step onto the metal floor when he felt something against his legs and nearly jumped a mile. 

"I said repent, damn you..."

"What the hell? How did **you** get here!?" Claude exclaimed in total shock.

Yoshi sat up groggily, recovering from his first jump between dimensions. He gave Claude lazy but slightly grudgingly looks periodically in between glances at the small room.

"What happened to your clothes and hair?" He asked as casually as ever. "And where are we?"

Claude folded his arms with an amused smile and said, "You're on Earth, fool."

"Wait, what?" Yoshi said, becoming more attentive. "You brought me to Earth!?"

"I didn't bring you to Earth," Claude stated, walking towards the panel in the center of the room. "You must've jacked a ride." He started looking at the screen for any answers on this particular phenomenon.

"The first Yoshi to cross dimensions! Damn, I rock!" Yoshi announced proudly. "And just for that, you've redeemed yourself, and I hereby reappoint you as leader of the Official Yoshi Fanclub."

Claude would have had some amused response but was too busy worrying himself over the repercussions of bringing a video game character out of their world and onto Earth. As far as he knew, it had never happened before, and if he explained to Miyamoto that it was an accident, just _maybe_ he wouldn't be thrown to the Metroids. Yoshi, on the other hand, was too busy inflating his ego even more.

"Hey, maybe I should write a speech," Yoshi said.

Claude looked up, "for what?"

"For when I show myself to the public. Or better yet, maybe spontaneity is better. What do you think?"

"I think you need to go back home," Claude said, pushing Yoshi towards the Transportation Tube.

"Are you crazy!?" Yoshi exclaimed. "I can't miss an opportunity like this! And neither can the public!"

"Okay, how about this. I'll let you stay here while I go find Mr. Miyamoto, and you can give _him_ all the speeches and spontaneity you want."

Yoshi frowned, "I don't see what the big deal is about why you don't want anyone to know I'm here, but okay."

Claude found Yoshi's sudden cooperation a little strange, but took it over anymore arguing and left the room, missing Yoshi's mischievous smirk.

He stepped into the small hallway, letting the metal door close behind him. He walked to the other end and cracked open the door, peeping through the opening. The Nintendo World Store was packed more than ever with the overwhelming business of opening day. The ridiculously long line of people waiting for their autograph from Shigeru Miyamoto didn't help calm the hysteria, either.

"That's a lot of people," Yoshi whispered from behind Claude.

"I know," he replied, then did a double take. "I thought I told you-" But it was too late, for Yoshi had whipped by him like green lightning and out into the open.

"HEY EVERYBODY, LOOK AT ME!" Yoshi yelled to the masses. Many heads turned with perplexed expressions, expecting to find the cause of the commotion...but no one was there.

'_He's fast, but I'm faster,_' Claude thought with a triumphant look on his face, having thrown Yoshi back into the hallway before anyone had seen him. He took a nearby chair and jammed the door with it, leaving the knob turning furiously from the other side, and then made his way over to the makeshift autograph signing area.

Security was a little tight, but Claude did make out Miyamoto's usual smiling face as he signed an elated girl's DS. She giggled and attempted to make some sort of conversation when she received her DS back, but was nearly bowled over and out of the way by the anxious people behind her. The gap toothed man from before appeared beside Miyamoto and whispered something to him. The smile had faded a little, but he continued the signing like a trooper once the man had left. Claude got a bad feeling in his gut, thinking that maybe they knew he had let Yoshi onto Earth, and that they had sensors or alarms for this sort of thing...and that Miyamoto was finding out for himself. Then he brushed it off when he though of the odds.

Squeezing through security, the man made eye contact with Claude. "Ah, you're the contest winner Claude, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Claude replied. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing," he dodged the question, looking around nervously. "Was there something you wanted to tell Mr. Miyamoto?"

"Something important needs his attention."

"Like what?"

Claude thought about how to word what he wanted to say. "We have a...interdimensional visitor."

The man gave an odd look but returned to Miyamoto and relayed the message. The smile was broader than ever on his face, which Claude thought was a good sign if he truly understood what was going on. He was quick to step away from the signing, to the dismay of the people waiting in line.

"Mr. Miyamoto will be right back," Mr. 'Gappy' announced to the bustling line. Miyamoto waved off security and wasted no time heading with Claude towards the door leading to the DWA Machine. He looked a bit perplexed by the chair jammed against the door until Claude made a simple gesture and removed it. Yoshi bolted out of the doorway, but was apprehended this time by Miyamoto himself and pulled back into the hallway.

"Hey! Wha...oh," Yoshi uttered as he was dragged down the hallway, a little stunned by his captor. Miyamoto whipped out his familiar access card and unlocked the thick metal door at the end of the hall, and they all entered the lair of the DWA Machine once again.

"Is there a problem?" Yoshi said, trying to give Miyamoto one of his most charming, innocent smiles. He was a bit confused when the man turned and walked away from him.

"You might want to wait a bit before askin' him anymore questions," Claude said while Miyamoto fastened his headset.

The Nintendo Legend himself opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He was contemplating what he wanted to say, which Claude knew would lead into some kind of chastising. Yoshi continued to smile at him.

"I see we have a guest," Miyamoto said.

Claude couldn't read his face. "I can explain," he said hurriedly. "What had happened was, I was on my way out of the Nintendoverse when Yoshi must've jumped on me and got brought to Earth."

Miyamoto smiled. "I had no idea the Machine could bring the natives out of their own world." He walked over to the dinosaur and looked him directly in the eyes. "Hello, Yoshi."

Yoshi looked slightly offended. "Hello!? Is that ALL you have to say to me?"

"Welcome to Earth!" Miyamoto replied. It didn't help.

"Where's the confetti? And the cake!?" Yoshi ranted. "What kind of welcoming party is this? Claude won't even let the people see me!"

Miyamoto's smile never faltered. "I'm sure you understand, Yoshi. The public is not ready for such a...treat." Yoshi beamed proudly at those words. "The Digital World Animator Machine is a secret project. If we were to reveal you, then everyone would be asking 'Where did he come from?' and 'How did he get here?' We would need the word to unveil the DWA Machine project to the world before doing so."

Yoshi looked as if he was told the nicest thing he ever heard in his life. He then turned and glared at Claude. "Why didn't you tell me that from the start!? I can't jeopardize the project by exposing myself to the people out there!"

Claude rolled his eyes and turned to Miyamoto. "Speakin' of out there, what was Gappy telling you about?"

"Gappy...?" Miyamoto nodded and smiled even broader when he realized who 'Gappy' was. "It was nothing. It seems that a Sony executive was spotted snooping around the store. Maybe it's paranoia talking, but I think he may be up to no good. This isn't the first Nintendo World Store to open, so I wouldn't believe that this would be his top priority. But, it's always wise to check out your competition. I've done so myself before. So," he said, changing the subject, "how was your trip? Why are you back so soon?"

Claude's face lit up and Yoshi gave him a knowing glance. "That's right, that's why I came here! You might not be so paranoid after all. The Yoshi Village was attacked by some Sony characters."

Miyamoto gave him an odd look. "Are you sure?"

"He's telling the truth!" Yoshi said. "We were face-to-face with them! Kicked their butts, too!"

"I...I can't believe Sony would stoop to such levels," Miyamoto said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"We need logs," Claude said. "We want to know as much as possible on how and why they came. There're logs, right?"

"Yes, there are," Miyamoto said with a distant look on his face, approaching the Viewer in the center of the room. He typed away on the keyboard, bringing up a window over the image of Hyrule, having changed from the image of Dreamland that was there before. He pressed a key and papers began to pour out of a printer on the left wall of the room, which he went to retrieve.

"While you're doing that, I'll go over here and..." Claude trailed off when he reached the Viewer and starting tapping away at keys.

Yoshi looked around the room and noticed that no one was paying attention to him. He felt a deep nagging feeling and decided to do what he did best: annoy people.

"What's that?" he asked, standing next to Claude and looking down through the glass.

"The Viewer," Claude replied.

"What does it do?"

"It views stuff," he replied flatly.

Yoshi frowned. "So, what are you doing?"

"I'm adding a Counter Aura to the Protect Barrier."

Yoshi was puzzled. "The who to the what?"

Claude sighed. "It's from Star Ocean 3. The shield of hexagons in the fight was the Protect Barrier. A Counter Aura, Anti-Attack Aura, or whatever you want to call it is supposed to trigger when the shield goes off, but I never set one, so nothin' happened."

Yoshi looked even more confused. "Okay..." He replied. The ensuing silence eventually began to drive him crazy, and he looked back and forth between Miyamoto and Claude as if expecting it to be a sick joke that would end any second now. When no one reacted, he snapped.

"Dammit, you're going to pay attention to me!" He yelled, slamming a hand down onto the keyboard.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Claude blurted out. "Look what you did, fool!" He pointed through the glass as a swirl of clouds began to form in the fields of Hyrule.

* * *

The clouds swirled in the blue skies over the fields of Hyrule until they formed a vortex, its path leading to another universe. In the center of the vortex appeared three blurred figures, slowly but surely inching their way from one world to the next. As they emerged from the wormhole of mist and cloud, the conduit of otherworldly travel disappeared behind them without a trace, as if the portal had never existed. 

The three of them flapped their wings high in the sky, bearing mischievous grins towards one another. The self-proclaimed leader had a body of purple feathers, trimmed with blue. Her two accomplices looked identical, one with brown feathers and a yellow trim, while the other bore green feathers with an orange trim.

They were the Harpy Sisters, half-women and half-bird menaces from another world. And they did what they were known and feared for throughout their homeland.

They laughed.

And they laughed some more.

And then they continued laughing.

One person...one child, bore witness to it all. Young Link had been taking a routine stroll through Hyrule Field, expecting it to be a normal, boring day. What he didn't know as he watched the harpies with pure curiosity was that this would be the turning point of his day, and that the ensuing harassment would be just one of many events to follow.

The harpies congregated amongst themselves with a series of laughs until one harpy, the green sister, noticed the young child watching them from the corners of her vision. She let out a stifled laugh which alerted her two sisters, and the trio peered down at Young Link with a newfound joy. He would be their next victim.

The child was alerted when the three sisters had formed a ring and rotated high over his head. He had never encountered such creatures, and knew from previous adventures to be cautious with the unknown.

Laughter reverberated from the skies for longer than Young Link could remember. He became annoyed and eventually offended by the screeches of laughter and silent insinuations that went along with it. He could finally take it no longer and hurled his boomerang to the skies, barely missing the green sister.

His attack, which was meant as a warning, only seemed to make things worse when the sisters cackled harder and louder than ever in result.

"Stop laughing at me!!" He commanded desperately, switching to his slingshot and hurling a storm of Deku Seeds into the air. The sisters hovered and continued to laugh as shots missed them.

"aHAhahahahaha!!!" They cackled.

Young Link reeled back one more seed and let if fly with godly precision. The brown sister, who's mouth had been wide open for another burst of laughter, had fallen to the ground before she realized what happened. The other two sisters lowered to the ground and surrounded their fallen sibling. The Deku Seed had lodged itself in her throat, which she had finally managed to cough up.

The two sisters hatefully glared at Young Link, and began casting a spell. The brown sister recovered and joined in on the casting. Young Link wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he backed away slowly.

"FIREBOLT!" The Harpy Sisters cried in unison, unleashing a flurry of fireballs in Young Link's direction. The child let out a terrified scream as he broke into a dash, the balls of molten rock magically following his every move...

* * *

Claude and Yoshi stared at the screen of Hyrule, having witnessed the entire event. 

"If you didn't kirk out and slam on the keyboard then that would've never happened," Claude reprimanded. "Now we've got another problem to handle when we get back."

Yoshi scowled. "It's not _my_ fault! You did the typing!"

"Is there a problem?" Miyamoto asked, organizing the printed paper.

"No," they replied in unison with shifty glances.

Miyamoto approached, looking through the logs. His eyes flashed. "There is no doubt that these Sony characters are running amok. Very mysterious..." He said, mostly to himself. "They were materialized on Yoshi's Island."

"And that's where they struck first!" Yoshi said, balling his fists.

"Any way to find where they are now?" Claude asked.

"I would have to search for them using the Viewer," Miyamoto replied. "It may take some time, though. That universe is very big, you know."

Claude looked slightly puzzled. "...but how'd they get into the Nintendoverse anyway?"

"They were inserted manually," Miyamoto said, tapping a slot under the keyboard attached to the Viewer. "It is a disk drive where you can download and upload information. It was downloaded in bulk, so the exact contents could not be disclosed, but it is the only time that downloading characters into the universe would be feasible."

"What about Saffron City?" Claude asked. "It was attacked and-"

"Also a manual command, entered from the Viewer," Miyamoto replied.

"Does that mean somebody broke in and messed with the digital machine thingy?" Yoshi said, eying the Viewer as if it had all the answers. "This is sounding pretty bad."

A small grin emerged on Miyamoto's face, "Not to worry. I believe it would be best if you returned to your friends and relayed this information to them. I have some business to attend to back in the store, so it will be awhile before I can search for the culprits. You may have better luck than I would if you searched for a solution to this problem immediately. Meanwhile, I'll have security tightened."

Claude found it a little odd how quickly Miyamoto's mood changed and how he was trying to herd them back into the Nintendoverse, but didn't say anything. Miyamoto typed away on the Viewer's keyboard, inputting the digitalization command that would interpret and transfer the flesh, blood and DNA of a being from Earth to the data of the Nintendoverse, and then the coordinates that would return them from where they originally left.

The transportation tube lit up, inviting everyone for the trip. Claude stepped inside for the second time of his life, surprising even himself at how ready he was to be transported into another universe previously thought to be purely fiction.

He noticed that Yoshi hadn't moved. "Come on," he said.

"But I just got here!" Yoshi complained, but reluctantly complied when he entered the tube as well, pushing Claude further back as if he needed all the space he could get.

Miyamoto hit the enter key and waved with a smile as the duo were turned into data and shot through the unknown that separated the two realities. The light in the tube died down and they were gone, leaving the Nintendo Legend to his own presence and thoughts.

The smile quickly faltered from his face as he looked over the logs again. The situation was worse than he wanted to let on to either Claude or Yoshi. The last thing he wanted was to panic the two people that could help rectify the problem. Though Miyamoto would have normally lingered in the awe and fascination that came with meeting one of Nintendo's creations, he was too troubled by what he read on the paper.

'Yoshi...is right,' he thought to himself. Someone did break in, and it wasn't just to admire the Digital World Animation Machine. They destroyed a Pokémon city and inserted malevolent beings to cause further destruction. So they knew what they were doing and how the DWA Machine worked. And they never left a trace of physical evidence he could detect. So not only did they bypass human security, but mechanical security as well when they managed to get through the thick metal door closing off the room to the rest of the world. He had never seen anyone inch there way towards the backroom before Claude emerged...

And then there was that one last problem. He stared at the mechanical text applied to the paper, hoping and expecting what he had read to warp itself into something, anything else than what he was understanding. That one last problem...information he purposely kept from both Claude and Yoshi regarding the Transportation Tube and the last time it was used.

_Someone else_ had entered the Nintendoverse after Claude.


	11. Chapter 11: On the Way to a Hunt

_There's two things I wanted to get off my chest before the start of this chapter._

_If you haven't done so yet, read 'I Like Cars.' It's a poem by Captain Falcon done in the KIJ-universe, and has been uploaded here for awhile. Most people that read it seem to enjoy it, since it's been plagiarized **twice** since I posted it on FFdotnet two years ago. No, I don't plan on taking it down...a couple of clowns stealing my work isn't enough to make me stop._

_On a lighter note, I wanted to update this story before Christmas...guess I'm cutting the deadline close. Anyways, I guess this could be considered an early Christmas present for all my loyal readers._ _Unfortunately, not too much happens in this chapter, though I may be underestimating the interest of the average reader._

* * *

**Chapter 11:** _On the Way to a Hunt_

"Any sign of them?" Samus asked hopefully. The huge Yoshi/T-rex hybrid standing before her glumly shook her head.

"Just the ruins of the village..." Shyla said heavily. "No traces of any life."

"I guess they could have gone to another part of the island," Samus contemplated. "If they haven't left it completely by now..."

Shyla looked towards Samus sharply. Samus was slightly alerted by this action, taking the time to crane her neck and check the area out. They were standing outside of the Great Fox, and nothing seemed amiss on the island.

"What's wrong?" Shyla asked.

"What do you mean?" was Samus's answer. She felt that she should have been the one asking that question.

"I heard it in your voice...something's wrong."

Samus gave Shyla a strange look from her visor. She knew that the dinosaur had a temper, and could possibly be a little crazy during fits of rage, which was why Yoshi tried to avoid her. She even recalled something Yoshi had said one time about Shyla gaining uncanny senses when something was wrong with him, and running onto the scene. She had dismissed it as Yoshi simply being himself and exaggerating a situation, but...maybe he was telling the truth. There was a lot about Shyla they really didn't know.

And then Shyla asked the dreaded question. "Where's Yoshi?"

Samus didn't answer. But it was because she wasn't sure how to answer. The truth was, they really didn't know what had happened to Yoshi, and there was no real way to figure out what exactly did happen to him...not in this dimension, anyway.

"Where's Yoshi!?" Shyla boomed. Her irritable side was showing, and things could get nasty quickly!

"Just tell her what happened!" Captain Falcon squeaked from inside of the Great Fox, trying to keep out of Shyla's line of vision. "You _know_ how crazy she can get!"

"I am **not** crazy!" Shyla roared. Captain Falcon let out a frightened cry and hid deeper inside of the ship.

Samus sighed. Even when Yoshi wasn't around, he still managed to cause trouble. "The truth is...we're not too sure what happened to him." Noticing Shyla's puzzled look, she continued. "While Claude was...teleporting back to Earth, Yoshi got in the way and sort of disappeared. We assume that he was taken to Earth with Claude, but aren't completely positive. Claude never said that people could be taken from this world to his, but he wouldn't know all the specifications of that machine, after all."

Shyla looked stricken with pure panic. "You're lying!" She cried, then dashed past Samus and into the Great Fox.

Pure chaos erupted as the large dinosaur trampled into the ship, sending masses of Yoshies reeling from her path. Captain Falcon screamed as he was bombarded under a wave of fleeing Yoshies.

"Yoshi!" Shyla called over the commotion of frightened Yoshies. "Yoshi, where are you!?"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Fox entered from a higher level in the room. Irritation was written all over his face.

Shyla looked up to Fox with desperation. "Where's Yoshi?"

Fox shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Then why aren't you looking for him!?" She demanded.

Fox looked confused. "Why would I be looking for that clown?" Shyla growled and traded angry glares with Fox.

"Shyla, calm down!" Samus commanded as she stepped into the ship.

The large dinosaur tensed up, but took a deep breath and began to relax. '_I do have a temper..._,' she admitted silently. Her huge figure sagged.

"Falcon?" Samus began to call, searching through the multitude of Yoshies. She heard a muffled cry beneath a pile of Yoshies and pulled the racer out.

"I thought I was going to die!" Captain Falcon said, patting shoeprints off of his suit. "They all came running and...!"

"I know," Samus said sympathetically. She turned to Shyla and said, "We'll look for Yoshi as soon as we can." Though Shyla couldn't quite see through Samus's visor, she felt the warm sincerity in her voice.

A bright light filled the halls, followed by an earsplitting screech that pierced through every corner of the Great Fox, sending the Yoshies into another panic from the sudden pain they and everyone else was experiencing. Captain Falcon nearly collapsed, holding Samus for support with one arm while attempting to cover one ear over his helmet. Even Samus was breaking down as the sound penetrated her suit. Just as quickly as the sound started, it stopped.

Fox massaged his aching ears. He knew that screech from anywhere. "Slippy..." he muttered.

"I thought frogs were supposed to have deep voices!" Captain Falcon complained.

"He should have his vocal cords removed," Samus said darkly, a humorous image of the toad running through the Great Fox in a panic and no voice to convey his message appearing in her mind.

They all nodded and headed to the source of the sound. And it looked like they weren't the only ones disturbed by it either, as Kirby, Boshi, Iris, and Krystal were waiting outside of the room.

"Shall we?" Samus said, gesturing towards the door. It slid open.

Slippy lay dazed against the bed with a bruise on the back of his head. Yoshi stood over him with an egg in one hand.

"Hey, he had it coming!" He said when he noticed the people staring at him through the doorway.

"He started screamin' like a banshee when we got here," Claude said from one corner of the room. "We probably scared him."

"He got lucky," Fox said as they entered the room. "I would have hit him more than once."

"You're safe!" Shyla exclaimed from within the hallway. She was too large to enter the room but still stood close by.

"We weren't sure if you were taken to Earth or floating in some kind of limbo between the two dimensions," Samus said.

A cocky grin appeared on Yoshi's face. "Yeah, well, you can just call me the first Yoshi to ever go to Earth! Unlike _some_ people..." He looked directly at Boshi, hoping he would react. It worked.

Boshi scowled. "Yeah, well, while you were playing around in Human Land, I was here supporting our species...you know, the ones who just got attacked by madmen."

Yoshi returned the scowl. "Yeah, well, I was getting vital information on those madmen while you were sitting here trying to look cool in your shades."

"Yeah, well, I do look cool in these shades!"

"Yeah, well-"

"Can we PLEASE stop with the 'yeah, well's!?" Captain Falcon blurted out. "Can't you find something else to say? It's driving me crazy!" Everyone agreed.

"You're one to talk about limited vocabularies," Yoshi retorted. Captain Falcon only sighed. He was used to getting picked on, especially by Yoshi.

"As much as I enjoy listening to you Yoshies' witty bickering and banter," Samus said dryly, "I think the information from Earth is the most pressing matter at the moment."

"The machine had logs after all," Claude said. "Mr. Miyamoto checked them out. He said-"

"The Sony guys were downloaded here and the same person that brought them here destroyed Saffron City!" Yoshi said quickly. Everyone looked confused.

Claude glared at Yoshi. "What he means is that the characters were taken from the game and downloaded through a disk drive in the machine, right here onto Yoshi's Island. Then the mystery person input some command that wiped out Saffron."

"Is the machine really that powerful?" Kirby asked. "Why can just anyone use it like that?"

"They can't," Claude replied. "There's a lot of security. The guy broke into the room but I guess no one knows how."

"I just can't think of anyone that would do something like this," Iris spoke solemnly. "It's pretty scary."

"Heyyyyy," Yoshi said, recalling an important detail. "Wasn't there some Sony executive spotted around the store?"

"Hmph," Samus muttered. "A Sony executive is seen in the same area as the machine, and Sony characters show up later to wreak havoc? I think we know exactly who's responsible."

Kirby looked to his friends doubtfully. "Should we really be jumping to conclusions? A Sony executive would be the perfect scapegoat."

Samus was appalled. "Kirby, you can't be serious? Quite frankly, I'm surprised Sony didn't try this sooner. I guess there wasn't a Digital World Animator Machine to abuse our world with beforehand."

"I'm getting sick of sitting around while those Sony freaks have their way," Fox said irately. "I'd take them out right now if I could."

"I hear ya!" Boshi applauded. "I don't see why you guys can't just take care of those men. You know, give 'em a good sockin'!"

"Oh, they'll get theirs," Samus replied. "But the real problem is the mastermind. Eliminating the Sony characters will be a temporary solution. As long as he's running around, our entire world could be in danger."

"...eliminate?" Claude said in disbelief. "You can't just go up and killing Jack and Rudy!"

Yoshi contorted his face with disgust. "They will not be referred to by name!"

"Claude, we won't have a choice if they continue to attack innocent people," Samus said gravely. She wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea herself.

"But somethin' just ain't right about the situation." Claude was certain that there was more to what was going on than random attacks by Wild ARMs characters.

"Of course something's not right with the situation," Fox replied. "There are Sony characters on our turf and we haven't killed them yet."

Krystal had been standing back, watching the scene unfold. She tried to take in as much as possible. "I don't know the exact details of the situation, but if someone were to go after those men that attacked the Yoshi Village, wouldn't they need to know where they are first?"

"The problem is, Mr. Miyamoto can't try to locate them with the machine anytime soon," Claude answered. "We'd probably have better luck lookin' for them ourselves."

"Then let the hunt begin!" Yoshi declared with a jump.

"Hold on," Samus said. "Before we do any hunting, what about these guys?" She gestured out of the room and to the halls of the Great Fox, filled to the brim with Yoshi refugees. "I'm sure Fox wants his ship to be limited to his crew once again."

Kirby's face lit up with excitement. "Hey, bring them to Dreamland! I know the perfect place where they can stay...Grape Garden! Nothing ever happens there."

"Then I'll meet you guys there," Samus said. "There's something I want to look for in the Saffron ruins." Samus was already on her way out of the room when Captain Falcon followed.

"I want to go too! Besides, the Blue Falcon is trashed for the moment so I really don't have a ride of my own."

Samus felt that Falcon would get in the way more than he would help, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings and went along with it. "Alright..." He leapt for joy as they headed out.

"So when are we leaving?" Iris asked Fox.

"As soon as possible. I want these Yoshies off of my ship!"

* * *

"Link, it's been quiet lately, don't you think?" Zelda asked, kneeling in a garden of flowers. 

Link silently nodded and hoped for the peace and quiet to continue. Whenever Hyrule was in danger, it was always up to the Hero of Time to save them. He needed a break, not only from Hyrule's perils but also from whatever chaos would spawn in the other Nintendo worlds. And his Smash Bros. companions always seemed to have a way of dragging him into their wild situations.

The faint sound of screaming alerted them both. "Doesn't that sound like Young Link?" Zelda thought aloud.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she made out the sight of the boy running towards the castle courtyard, with cackling harpies in hot pursuit.

Link wielded the Master Sword as his younger self ran by and straight into Zelda's arms.

"Zelda! Those bird ladies came through some kind of portal and wouldn't stop laughing at me!"

By now, the harpies began circling the skies of Hyrule Castle, chortling madly at their own mischief.

"...is that all they did?" Zelda asked incredulously.

Young Link saw the look on Zelda's face. "You don't understand! They just don't stop!"

And he was right. The cackling continued and the sisters took turns swooping down into the courtyard, letting out forcefully explosive laughs to make sure that their new victims heard them loud and clear.

Link's brow twitched. He was known to be a patient young man, but the laughing was getting ridiculous. He sheathed the Master Sword and pulled out his trusty bow.

"Link! Don't provoke them!" Zelda warned, but was too late. An arrow narrowly missed the green sister.

She reared back and let out a haughty laugh. "aHAhahahahaha!!!"

Link took another shot, this one too close for comfort. The harpies became enraged by the attention they sought so desperately and the purple sister led the attack, holding her wings ahead of her and starting up a spell. Her two sisters followed.

"FIREBOLT!" They screamed in unison.

A flurry of fireballs headed straight for Link. With a spin attack from the Master Sword, they were sent back to the harpies, setting one of the purple sister's wings on fire. She nearly plummeted to the ground, but managed to stay in the air. They all cast hateful glares towards Link with their leader now wounded. The purple sister let out a fearful laugh, and the sisters retreated.

"...that was weird," Young Link admitted. Zelda nodded.

"Harpies...in Hyrule? Just what's going on here?" She wondered aloud.

Link spotted movement atop the castle. Was there a fourth sister? Just as he turned to make out the shadowed figure, it was gone. There was more going on in Hyrule than anyone quite knew.

"What's wrong, Link?" Zelda asked, approaching him. She noticed that his gaze was fixated on the top of the castle. "Did you see something?" He nodded.

"I've been getting a bad feeling for the last few hours," the princess started airing her concerns aloud. "And I think it was from more than just those harpies. Link, I think it's time to contact the others. Maybe they know what's going on and where those harpies came from."

* * *

_Since I'm on break, I plan on getting a lot more of the story done. Who knows? Maybe I'll have another update before New Years...all I can say is, a little bit more is going to happen in the next chapter.  
_


	12. Chapter 12: A Briefcase Full of Missiles

This chapter was finished for awhile before I posted it, but I held out because even over the break, I made little progress on chapter 14. Of course, what's the point of holding out with back up chapters if you're not going to upload them during dry periods?

I think this chapter turned out better than I expected. I was originally going to cut it near the end because it was getting too long in comparison to my usual chapter lengths, but I like it better this way. It starts off with some Samus/Captain Falcon comedy and ends on a much more serious note.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12:** _A Briefcase Full of Missiles_

"Samus!" Captain Falcon cried. "SAMUS! Zelda died and turned into a ghost and now she's haunting your ship!"

Samus turned from her seat, but Captain Falcon never caught the glare that pierced through her visor. "And where's this 'ghost'?"

"Over there!" He pointed in the corner, looking as frightened as ever. He pressed his body hard against the opposite wall as if it would give way at any moment and lead him far, far away from Zelda's 'ghost.'

Zelda's transparent figure faded in and out of sight. It looked like she was talking, but no sound left her lips.

"Zelda?" Samus approached the sight.

"Don't get too close!" Falcon squeaked. "You might die!"

Samus rolled her eyes. "She's not a ghost, Falcon. It's a spell."

"A spell that made her die!"

The image of the princess stabilized and sound finally accompanied her moving lips. "Samus? Samus, I've been having bad vibes lately...is everything okay?"

Samus sighed. Hyrule had been left in the dark. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to break the wealth of bad news to its inhabitants, but did so anyway.

"Well...Sony is staging some sort of attack on us." Zelda gasped and gave a foreboding look to her side; most likely whoever was there in Hyrule with her. Samus continued, "Saffron City was wiped off the map, but there were no casualties. And the Yoshi Village was attacked by two men from the game Wild ARMs. They haven't been spotted since, but I doubt their work is finished."

"I don't understand." Zelda looked dazed. "How is any of this possible?! And why is it happening to us?"

"Captain Falcon and I are on our way to the Saffron ruins to look for some clues. The others are transporting the Yoshi refugees to Grape Gardens in Dreamland. There's...someone who can explain what's going on a lot more with them. You should go see him."

"Alright..." Zelda replied. "I'll tell Link everything."

"You mean Link died too!?" Captain Falcon cried from the corner he had been standing in. "**WHY!?**" He screamed.

Both women glared at him menacingly. He cringed and sat in a fetal position. Zelda gave Samus a knowing and sympathetic look, then ended the spell. Her image faded away.

"...Did Zelda go to Heaven?" Captain Falcon asked, trying not to make contact with the visor.

Samus gave up. "Yes, Falcon, she went to Heaven. Now get in a seat, we're almost there."

Samus's gunship flew low over what remained of Saffron City. All buildings had been demolished and left in shambles. What few people stayed in the ruins were now digging for possessions.

"Did a bomb go off here?" Captain Falcon asked, wide-eyed.

"No," Samus replied. "Some kind of beam did all of this damage." She replayed the footage of Saffron City's destruction for him and leaned back in her seat contemplatively. "It's too clean...too precise to be a bomb. And there were no casualties."

Captain Falcon frowned. "I can't believe someone could destroy the city but miss all of the people."

"The people were spared purposely," Samus declared darkly.

The ship landed in the middle of a deserted street. Samus and Captain Falcon climbed out shortly afterwards. They walked through the ruined city; Samus's eyes were peeled for anything that might serve as a clue, when she spotted a woman and her two children digging through what she assumed was the remains of their home.

"Excuse me," Samus said, approaching the woman carefully. "Could you tell us what happened here?"

The woman brushed her clothes and pushed her dirty hair away from her face. It looked like she had just survived a war, and the anguish in her face was clear to the strange visitors. "It was horrible...everything gone at once."

"How?" Samus questioned. She hoped that this wouldn't lead to a dead end.

"I don't really know how. I was cooking breakfast for the kids when a bright light filled the house and the entire city. The walls, the furniture...the _house_ was disintegrating before my eyes. All that's left are our pokemon."

Samus nodded, following the woman's story until she spotted movement from the corner of her vision. She saw something watching them intently from the top of what used to be an apartment complex. It was probably just more civilians looking through the wreckage of their homes.

'_But then again, maybe not,_' Samus thought. She wanted to dismiss what she saw, but her hunter's instinct kept nagging at her. What reason would anyone really have to be perched atop a ruined building like that?

"Falcon, keep questioning her," the bounty huntress ordered. "I'm going to check something out." She casually walked away as if she had all the time in the world.

Captain Falcon was elated but hid his feelings. Samus was the type of woman to take charge and control the situation herself rather than leaving it to others. This was a rare instance, and even rarer that a job would willingly be left to _him._

He covered his beaming mouth with a hand and coughed, clearing his throat and face. He then pulled out a pen and folded napkin from his pocket and began to write on it. Captain Falcon was left with a vital task, and he was intent on gathering the information they needed.

He thought of the most important thing on his mind, gave the woman a serious look, and asked, "Do you like cars?"

"Um...yeah, I guess," the woman answered, confused.

"Hmmm..." He continued writing on the napkin. "Do you have a car?"

"Yes...well, I did but it was lost in that catastrophe. Everyone's cars were lost."

"Those bastards!" He snarled suddenly. "Unforgivable!"

Meanwhile, Samus gracefully leapt onto a broken ledge that once served as a bedroom floor. She could see the man standing on another smaller ledge jutting out from what was left of the apartment's walls, only a floor above her. It was then that she realized just how treacherous a task it was to get up here. It took her acrobatic skill and a boost from the Power Suit just to reach these heights. No civilian could make the climb. So, just who was he?

His back was turned to her the entire time. Either he had no idea that she was up here, or he was doing a good job of ignoring her. Regardless, Samus was determined to get answers.

She made another leap, flipping through the air, and landed only inches away from the man. His back was still turned away, so she could only assume that he was anticipating her every move, or deaf.

"It's rude to sneak up on people," he said abruptly.

"It's rude to watch people from atop ruined buildings," she replied tartly.

He turned around and she got a good look at him for the first time. He was a Japanese man with glasses and black hair that reached down right above his brows. He wore a black business suit, with one hand casually tucked into the pocket of his suit jacket and the other holding a black leather suitcase. He gave her a disapproving look.

"I didn't expect you to be walking around after what they told me," he said mysteriously. Though he couldn't see the confusion behind the visor, he felt it, and grinned nastily in response.

"...have we met?"

He grunted. "There's no reason to introduce myself to the likes of you. You won't be around long enough to make use of the knowledge anyway."

Samus was getting bad vibes. "Oh really? And what's going to happen to me?" She said, but garnered no response. She pressed two fingers to the side of her visor with the inkling of a feeling of the data she expected to receive from this man.

'No data found.'

The feeling was right.

"Samus!" Captain Falcon called out. She looked to find him standing at the base of the apartment ruins. When she turned back to the mystery man, he had vanished into thin air. There were no traces of him fleeing, no traces of him once _existing_.

Samus made a graceful leap from the building, landing before Captain Falcon. He watched her with excitement; he wanted to tell her what he had found out during his investigation.

"What were you doing up there?" He said, bouncing on his feet with energy.

"Didn't you see the man up there with me?" Samus asked hopefully. Falcon shook his head.

"There's nobody up there," he said, then shoved a folded napkin into her hand. He noticed her hesitation; she was confused. "Read it!" He told her.

"Uh...what do cars have to do with anything?"

"It's what I found out!" He exclaimed, pointing to the writing on the napkin. "The woman had a car and it was apparently destroyed with the rest of the town." Samus sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I should have known..."

Captain Falcon gave a sheepish grin. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, nevermind. If I met who I think I did, then the others may want to know about it. We should catch up with them as soon as possible."

* * *

"GET OUT!" Fox screamed. "All of you! GET OFF OF THE DAMN SHIP!"

The Yoshies stampeded out of the Great Fox in fear. Fox was using all the self-restraint he could muster to stop himself from grabbing the nearest yoshi and choking it to death. Apparently, that wasn't enough.

"What's all the yellin' for?" Claude appeared from inside of the ship, before noticing the the flailing body of one of the yoshies in Fox's hands. "Hey!" he yelled before prying Fox's grip from around the yoshi's neck. Fox cut him a dirty look.

"One of the Yoshies left a...'surprise,'" Falco said as the yoshi scampered by and towards the rest of its kind.

"What...?" Claude was puzzled.

"One of them wasn't housebroken."

"Oh...that's nasty."

Fox gritted his teeth. "That's the last time I save a species from extinction!" He declared angrily with a fist in the air.

"Ah, relax. Just get Slippy to clean it up," Falco said casually before strutting out of the ship and into the grassy land of Dreamland known as Grape Gardens. The area was enclosed by the walls of an arching cliff, where a small waterfall fed into a river leading into a lake not far away.

Kirby bounced out of the Great Fox with the usual smile plastered on his face, followed by Iris and Yoshi. "The Yoshies should enjoy it here," he told them. "Grape Gardens is usually calm and tranquil. It might not be the same as the forest on your island, but I guarantee that this place will grow on you!"

"Yeah, well, we don't plan on living here forever," Yoshi said. "We're going to make a new village eventually."

Iris' face brightened with an idea. "Why don't we all help you guys build a bigger, better village?"

Yoshi grinned wryly. "Even Fox?"

"Uh...well...I'll try to get him to help. You know how he is," she admitted.

"And how exactly am I?"

"Oh!" Iris yelped from Fox's sudden presence behind her. "Um...I meant..."

He threw his arms around her. "I know what you meant..." he said in a low, seductive tone.

Kirby and Yoshi traded glances. They had never seen Fox act like this. He was suddenly in a good mood. Maybe too good of a mood.

"I thought that everyone could pitch in and help rebuild the Yoshi Village...even you." Iris sighed. Even if Fox was in a good mood, there was no way he'd go along with it.

Fox took the time to think. Everyone was expecting him to decline in the most rude manner that came to his mind, but was surprised when he said, "Sure, why not."

"Hell must have frozen over!" Yoshi exclaimed. "That's the only explanation! Sony invades...Fox is helping other people...there's just no other way!"

"Stop making a big fuss or I'll punch you harder than Zelda did last year." Fox smirked when Yoshi glowered in reply. Being punched in the face by that princess was a memory he wished he could forget.

"Yeah, well, Zelda wasn't in her right state of mind!" Yoshi defended. "She'd never try something like that again!"

An unnatural blast of wind hit Grape Gardens hard. No one was quite sure what was going on as the wind gathered in one small area, turning into a green funnel. It quickly dissipated, leaving three people behind. Link, Zelda, and Young Link stood in a triangle formation, hands interlocked. They had combined their power for an advanced version of the Farore's Wind spell to guide them to their friends.

"Oh my God! She's back for more!" Yoshi cowered and hid behind the two foxes.

The trio released hands and looked around; their spell was successful. They noticed that everyone began to crowd around them. Even the masses of Yoshies were curious. Magic wasn't a common display back in the forest.

"Zelda!!" Kirby cried happily, jumping into the Princess's arms.

"It's been much too long," Zelda said. "We really should get together like this more often!"

"What's with all the Yoshies?" Young Link asked. A mischievous smirk crept along his face. More people to bother.

In contrast, Zelda's blue eyes reflected deep concern. "Ah...I take it that everything Samus told me was true? About Saffron City, the Yoshi Village, and Sony...?"

Kirby nodded then jumped out of her arms. "The Yoshies are here temporarily. It's the only thing we can do until we find the men responsible for attacking the village."

Link folded his arms in discontent. Another day, another problem. If he had spoken, he would have clearly announced his dislike of the situation.

"Hey, it's not that bad," Iris said. "We have a sort of trump card of our own." She gestured towards the earthling in their midst.

"I see..." the princess said, approaching the young man. "I am Princess Ze-"

"Zelda," Claude said. "I know all about you. I'm from-"

"Earth!" Kirby chimed happily. "And he's a-"

"Fan, of me in particular!" Yoshi declared, jumping ahead of Claude with an arrogant grin. "Go ahead Claude! Tell them about how you always dreamed about meeting me!"

"**Move!**" Zelda commanded with a gruffness unlike a princess, causing Yoshi to scamper and take shelter behind the foxes again. "It's nice to meet you, Claude," she said in a softer tone as her hand was taken by his.

"I never thought I'd meet you," Claude said with an awe-struck smile.

"And I never thought I'd meet anyone from Earth, let alone a fan," Zelda replied. The cross-dimension meeting continued until Link abruptly stepped between the two. "Oh, Link!" Zelda exclaimed under one of Link's 'what do you think you're doing' gazes. "I forgot you were here!" Link's stern face became sour from that comment.

"You'll have to forgive Link," Zelda apologized. "He doesn't speak much and usually communicates through his actions." Link folded his arms once again and glared at the princess, only strengthening her words in the process. The younger Link, however, took the opportunity to settle a dispute – and have a little fun at the same time.

Just as Yoshi felt it safe to be seen again, he was attacked when a brown boot was squarely planted into his left shin. He howled in pain, hopping on one foot while trying to massage his lower leg, until the snickering of the young culprit caught his attention. He wasted no time chastising Young Link.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" He screamed. Young Link only laughed harder under Yoshi's glare.

"You deserved it because you lied to me!" The young menace finally said after a good laugh. "You told me that Zelda was a man!"

Yoshi narrowed his eyes. "No I didn't. I believe my exact words were 'Zelda isn't a woman.'"

Young Link gave him a suspicious look. "Well if she isn't a woman, she's gotta be a man, right?"

"Not necessarily. I say that Zelda's really genderless."

Young Link was taken aback. "Who could have possibly figured something like that out!"

"Jeez, you're a dense kid if you **couldn't** figure it out," Yoshi said casually, dismissing Young Link. He only managed to anger the child, and received another swift kick, this time to the right shin.

"Gah! You're getting on my nerves!" Yoshi warned. Young Link went into another laughing fit, but was joined this time by Yoshi's nemesis.

"Ha! Getting bullied by a child? I'm not surprised, Yoshi." Boshi wore a nasty smirk. The shades atop his large snout only magnified his ego.

Young Link's eyes widened at the sight of Boshi. "Cool shades! Can I have them?"

"No way kid!" He said while pushing the child's grabbing fingers away. "Get 'yer own!"

Young Link frowned and began to leave, but a glimmer of mischief filled his eyes. He swiveled on one foot and kicked Boshi in the shin, which was proving to be an effective method of attacking. While Boshi was trying to cease the pain, Young Link snatched the shades from the dinosaur and slipped them over his own pointed ears.

"I bet I look so cool now!" Young Link declared triumphantly.

"You brat! Someone should teach you a lesson!" Boshi growled, covering his face. "Dammit, my eyes!"

"Don't tell me you can't see without those glasses?" Yoshi asked with a bit of satisfaction.

"No, I can't be _seen_ without them!" Boshi complained, stomping the ground in anger. Eventually he calmed down once Young Link skipped away with his shades. He felt similar vibes of resentment from Yoshi towards Young Link.

"...should we work together?" Boshi suggested, skillfully blocking his eyes from sight.

Yoshi understood and nodded. "Just this one time."

Young Link pranced around the area with his shades. He had no interest in what his older companions were discussing, mostly because he didn't have the attention span to stay and listen. They were too busy talking to notice his cool shades anyway, so he pranced right past them, receiving a threatening glare from Fox in the process. He took that as a challenge and made a mental note to annoy the Star Fox leader sometime later. Fox would be a challenging opponent, and perhaps one of the few to _expect_ bad behavior from the child. He'd take pleasure in breaking McCloud down with everything he learned in his few years of life.

He continued his parade right through the masses of Yoshies. None of them seemed to really care about the boy or his shades, as they were attempting to accept and adjust to their temporary life in Grape Gardens. Realizing this, Young Link instead decided to check out the landscape, since this was one of the few times he had been in Dreamland without it being for a tournament.

As his eyes trailed along the river and back towards the waterfall, he noticed a shadow. That was odd, he thought, but was never given the opportunity to investigate when he was tackled to the ground under two angry Yoshies.

"Got ya!" Boshi cried in success.

"Get off of me!" Young Link struggled, but was held firmly under their weight. "I'm going to tell Zelda and she's going to beat you up again, Yoshi!"

"Nice try, punk," Yoshi retorted, pushing Young Link's face into the grass with a scaly green hand.

Young Link blinked. "There's somebody up there!" He cried out.

"That's not going to work! Now sit still and shut up!" Yoshi growled while Boshi slipped the shades off of Young Link and onto his own face, still managing to hide his eyes until the process was complete. What he saw made his jaw drop.

"Oh hell, the brat wasn't lying!"

Yoshi gave Boshi a bizarre look. "What are you talking about?"

"Greetings, Nintendo scum!" A voice boomed from the ridge above.

They all looked up to find an unfamiliar man addressing them. He was dressed in a black suit with a leather briefcase at his side as if he were about to head into the office for work. The sunlight provided an ominous reflection in his glasses.

"My name and identity is not important. You haven't earned the privilege to know that information."

"Who's this pompous ass?" Yoshi jeered.

"However, I would like to speak to the young man that won the contest...Claude," he knowingly stared in Claude's direction.

"I don't know you," Claude replied defiantly.

"I understand, this must be sudden for you," the mystery man said in a much friendlier tone. "I certainly have matters to discuss with you, and only you. But until that time comes..." he knelt beside his briefcase and began to unlock it. "I have a message that should be delivered to your friends here."

The briefcase popped open and a salvo of missiles poured out in a blazing glory.

"Get into the Great Fox!" Fox cried over the panic that was mostly provided by the yoshi populace fleeing.

"Fox!" Iris pleaded, latching onto Fox's arm.

"Iris, get inside!" He commanded. It took all of her will power to let go and head for safety, but the missiles had already started making contact.

Zelda grabbed Link and Claude by the arms and pulled them in closely with Kirby at her feet. With the wave of an arm and a look of defiance, she cast Nayru's Love, shielding them in a protective blue diamond. Missiles touched down all around them, sending all manners of shredded land and fire ricocheting off of the magical diamond's surface.

Yoshi rolled into an egg, encapsulating himself as well as Boshi and Young Link in his shield. Though he wasn't particularly fond of either one of them, he wasn't going to let them get hurt in this instance. The rest of the yoshi populace mimicked this action, protecting themselves from the onslaught.

After the deafening roar of missile fire and explosions died down, a content cackle echoed from above. The mystery man was pleased with his work as he surveyed the many craters afflicted upon the once beautiful terrain. This type of warfare was unfamiliar to Grape Gardens, and it showed from the smoking holes littering the otherwise bright and happy land.

"Who the heck packs a briefcase full of missiles!?" Yoshi complained, emerging from the eggshell.

"You're still alive?" The man asked, half amused and lurching forward to scale the damage he caused. "I'm feeling a little generous, so there's seconds for everybody! Tee hee!" He cracked the briefcase open again, but was instead struck by a missile from the skies. A second missile followed up, soaring through the smoke and sending pieces of the cliff exploding in all directions. Samus's gunship soared overhead before turning around and landing by the Great Fox.

"Are you guys okay!?" Captain Falcon called, running towards his comrades. Samus followed behind him.

"Yes, no one was hurt," Zelda whispered softly, fatigued from her spell. Captain Falcon gaped at her form.

"Hey, you didn't die!" He exclaimed, but was pretty much ignored.

"YOU blew up that guy!" Kirby said, pointing accusingly to Samus. "Was that kind of violence necessary?"

"If I didn't blow him up, he would have blown _you_ up," Samus defended.

"Well I guess everyone's missiles are missing the mark today!" sang a cheery voice. The man emerged from the smoke and destruction of the cliff, now on ground level with everyone else. Not a scratch was on him; not even a speck of dirt from the ruined cliff. "Not that I was expecting better from you," he uttered coldly.

"You're talking a lot of trash considering who you're attacking," Fox said, his blaster aimed and glued to the sight of this man. "...and what we're probably going to do to you," he added on with a mischievous smirk.

"You can put the toy away, little fox," the man said with a particular giddy grin. "I was just leaving..."

"The hell you are!" Fox opened fire, but his target had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"This is getting freaky!" Young Link whined. Everyone silently agreed.

"We'll meet again, Claude," a voice said from behind them. Link's instincts kicked in with a backslash. The Master Sword cut through air as the man blinked out of existence once again, this time for good.

"It's a game! All of it!" Samus cried furiously. "That **maniac** knew exactly what he was doing!"

"Samus, calm down..." Captain Falcon pleaded, taking hold of her arm. She pushed him away.

"No! Remember when I told you that I saw someone in Saffron City? It was him! The look on his face when I confronted him...I know he was the one responsible for the destruction! He was _pleased_ with his work! He must be **destroyed!**"

"I agree," Fox said, still gripping the blaster tightly. His tailed whipped around excitedly; he was aching for some combat.

"Samus! Isn't that going a little far?" Kirby gave her one of his adorable smiles, but it didn't work. She was still aggravated. "We don't even know if he's a bad guy or just misunderstood."

"The man said 'tee hee'!" Claude replied. "I don't know about you, but every person I ever met that said 'tee hee' was evil."

Kirby was perplexed, "What does...?"

"This has gotten personal," Samus interjected. "I'm not quite sure what's going on in his head, but I know he won't stop here. His assaults are just going to escalate until one of us gets killed. That _is_ what he wants."

"Then we'll get him before he gets us," claimed Fox with a determined grin. "And I know exactly how to find him."


	13. Chapter 13: Return to the Bronze Horn

_With finals over and summer approaching, that hopefully means I have some free time. Honestly I expected to be over with this story by now and writing the sequel, though I guess if I take advantage of my free time, I can be over with this by summer's end. _

* * *

**Chapter 13:**_ Return to__The Bronze Horn_

Samus usually thought of herself as a patient woman, but not at the moment. She stood in what Iris had labeled 'Star Fox Central' with the rest of her comrades, and she had little clue why. She felt that she was working with an inch for a situation that stretched a yard, and it was beginning to take a toll on her. She was becoming frustrated; Fox had told them he had a plan, but never bothered to divulge it to them.

She glanced around the room. The members of Star Fox had taken to their usual positions, yet her companions seemed to be just as in the dark as she was. At least they were taking the time to chat amongst each other, though she didn't feel like talking.

"No, the harpies were Yoshi's fault," Claude said accusingly. Zelda shot a fiery glare towards Yoshi, who had already made it a point to stay out of her sight once she mentioned Hyrule's unwelcome guests. "I was alterin' a few specifications when he went crazy and slammed a bunch of random keys."

"Really?" Zelda said with interest, watching Young Link zip by and begin torturing Yoshi with a series of kicks. He was most likely enacting revenge, since the harpies had made it their first priority to harass him once they entered Hyrule. "So you can just alter your physics and abilities like that through this Digital Machine? Then perhaps this is why that man possesses teleportation capabilities."

"Yeah," Claude said, agreeing with the most logical explanation. "But that doesn't explain how he broke into the DWA Machine's room in the first place. I've been in there. That place is straight up _locked down._"

"Zelda, make him STOP!" Yoshi whined from a corner where Young Link continued to kick him.

"You're not so tough now that you don't have that overgrown dinosaur to protect you!" Young Link teased, and then laughed triumphantly. He was right. The Yoshies had been left behind on Grape Gardens with Boshi and Shyla. It was determined that the threat was towards the Smash Brothers and not the Yoshies themselves. Although Shyla wanted to tag along, she only stayed behind due to Yoshi's personal request, though he was starting to regret it more and more with every kick to the rear.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Yoshi defended, but it was no use.

"Do you know how ANNOYING they are!?" Young Link complained, delivering another swift kick. "'aHAhahahaha' – over and over again!"

"Can't possibly be as bad as you are..." Yoshi muttered, rare traces of his temper starting to show. A few more kicks unwittingly opened the flood gates, and Yoshi grabbed Young Link, easily holding his weight above his head and tossing the child across the room.

Unfortunately, Young Link collided with Samus, snapping her out of her increasingly angry thoughts. She glared at the boy as he retreated from the room, never letting his fearful gaze leave her opaque visor. Now that she was brought back to reality, she could take the suspense no longer.

"Fox, why are we going to Corneria? You haven't told us what your plan was since we left Dreamland! Tell us **now!**" Samus demanded in an imposing tone.

Iris glanced over to Fox. "Fox...go ahead and tell them," she softly coaxed.

The young leader sighed. He knew he was going to have to tell them eventually. The problem was that he wasn't quite sure if they'd come once they knew where he was going. Actually, he wasn't quite sure if _he_ wanted to go back there himself. _Back there..._

"There's somebody I know back on Corneria. He has some kind of advanced locater device that lets him find _**anyone, anywhere...**_"

The visor did well hiding Samus' skeptical face. "And he just lets you use something like that whenever you feel like it?"

"Oh, no. We have an agreement: He let's me use it whenever I need to, and in return I won't beat his ass and take it for myself." Fox chuckled.

Zelda was quite disturbed by McCloud's words. "That's...not funny."

"Of course it is!" Fox said playfully, but it didn't sway the princess any further.

"So where is he?" Samus was cutting to the chase. She knew Fox was withholding information, and her intent gaze made Fox all the more reluctant to tell.

"The...Bronze Horn." There were a few confused glances shared amongst the room.

Realization hit Kirby and his pink face lit up. "Heeyyyy! Isn't that the bar you use to always hang out at?" Fox nodded.

"That place is pretty rowdy, isn't it?" Samus asked. "Maybe I'll go with you. I want to see this locater for myself."

Fox rolled his eyes. "Come if you want, but it's not going to take that long."

"But it's a good idea not to be by yourself with these Sony warriors on the loose," Zelda said. "Link, why don't you go with them?"

Link turned sharply and gave Zelda a look along the lines of 'bitch, please' but complied by nodding his head. He might as well entertain himself while he was stuck in this situation. Maybe something eventful would happen. And with that thought, he readjusted his tunic, in a much lighter mood.

"I think I'll go too," Claude said. Silence fell onto the room. "...what?"

"Now isn't exactly the time go sightseeing," Samus said sternly. "The people inside that bar can be just as dangerous when provoked."

Claude shrugged the thought off. "I'm in danger anyway. That Sony man said he would come back for me."

Samus sighed. "Alright, but only because _someone_ needs to keep an eye on you." The bounty huntress turned and addressed Fox. "I think we should take my ship. It'll attract less attention than trying to park the Great Fox in the middle of the street."

* * *

Claude followed Link, jumping through the entrance hatch atop Samus's gunship. Samus had already taken her seat at the cockpit and went to work on the control panel, slowly bringing the ship to life. Fox sat in a seat with a look of pure discontent, as if Samus couldn't be any slower. 

There was a frightened cry and thud. Four necks craned to find that Captain Falcon had slipped and fell through the hatch. Yoshi soon landed on top of him.

Link raised a brow, something that was quickly becoming his favorite way of expressing a mood.

"What're you doin' here?" Claude took the words right out of his silent mouth.

"I can't let my armored muffin go into a bar full of _ruffians_ without protection!" Captain Falcon proclaimed, rolling Yoshi off of his back.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't spend another minute on that ship with bratty Link or Zelda!" Yoshi complained.

"I thought you were on good terms with Zelda," Samus said, approaching the duo newly added to their ranks.

Yoshi shrugged, not giving much thought to what he was saying. "With women, you never know. After all, you of all people should understand about the mood swings, Samus. Being a woman and all. At least, I think you still identify yourself as a woman. Right?"

The reaction was quick as Samus' arm cannon made contact with Yoshi's face. The men flinched and looked away from the impact.

"Haven't we gone over this slapping thing already!?" Yoshi cried out in pain.

"There'll be plenty more where that came from unless you start monitoring what comes out of your mouth!" Samus declared with a balled fist. "Now sit down and shut up until we get to the bar! Or I'll throw you out!" While Samus turned around and headed back to her seat at the cockpit, Yoshi looked towards Link and Claude and silently mouthed 'mood swings.'

Samus' Gunship exited the Great Fox, which was now circling the outskirts of Corneria City. Samus quickly piloted the ship through the night sky and into the inner city, having been to Corneria several times now and becoming quite accustomed to its layout. She ignored most of the predetermined traffic routes of the sky and flew low over the citizen-owned buildings that weren't towering skyscrapers of various shapes and sizes. She used Fox's house as a navigation point since the bar, the Bronze Horn, was in decent walking distance from his home. The entire neighborhood was looked down on by most. The slight poverty issue left most of the buildings as less sophisticated in design than most of the city, with some even resembling low-class Earth neighborhoods.

The pub was easy to spot afterwards, especially in the dead of night. The streetlights revealed the crumpled forms of collapsed drunkards that managed to stumble out of the bar. A pair of cougars staggered out of the Bronze Horn and joined their fellow men by tripping over the sidewalk and falling into a drunken sleep along the concrete of the street.

Samus' gunship hovered above the two fresh bodies. The hatch opened and she was the first to exit, followed by her five companions. They all leapt several feet into the air and landed onto the sidewalk with no problems, while Claude cautiously slid over the side of the gunship and onto the ground below.

With the tap of a few buttons on the side of a concealed panel on her arm cannon, Samus commanded the ship away, and it idly floated in the skies of Corneria waiting to be summoned once again. They waited outside of the tavern, listening to the bustling customers inside. They were amused at the sight above them. The "Bronze Horn" sign was accompanied with a large, rusted horn jutting outward just above it. And hanging by the cloth of his shirt (though no one was quite sure how he got up there) was a drunken cat.

"Animal people," Claude said with an amused grin, catching a few looks. "Sorry but it always trips me out when I come here."

"Let's get this over with," Fox muttered, and led the way into the bar.

Their nostrils were hit with a blast of smoke and alcohol. Despite the fact that there was a small smoking section towards the back of the bar, there were so many heavy smokers congregated into the area that smoke was literally pouring out and fogging up the entire bar. Most of the customers were too drunk to care, though.

Claude looked around in awe. It truly hit home that he was indeed in Corneria; a fantasy land come true. The tavern had an old natural look to it, with wooden floors, tables, chairs, and rickety stools along the bar. The thin veil of smoke added to the atmosphere, he felt. But it was entirely populated by 'animal people.' It was easy to acknowledge them when they were flying their ships and cars through the sky, but sitting down and eating and drinking and talking with them? Surreal.

A push in the back from Yoshi was accompanied by "Move it!" He sped up, closing the gap in the line between himself and Link until Fox, the line leader, stopped and looked around.

"You all stay here. I'm going to look for Randy. He's paranoid so he doesn't like being surrounded by a group of people."

"Hmph," Samus murmured once Fox went to scope out Randy. "Claude, stay close by. You don't want to upset anyone." Samus began surveying the tavern herself.

"Hey, look who it is!" A skunk called out. He nudged his buddy, a kangaroo/wallaby, and started making his way over to the group of oddballs. "Aren't you a little young to be here?" he said to Claude.

"Oh, hey, uh..."

"Don," the skunk said. "And my intoxicated friend here is Clyde."

"Aye..." The wallaby whispered sickly, grabbing his friend's shoulder for support.

Captain Falcon prodded Claude in the side. "You know these guys?"

"Yeah. Kirby brought me here earlier and...you _know_ how he flies that star," he said, to the knowing faces of his companions. "We crashed and they found me."

"And what a lucky find it was," Don said happily. "I had no idea you were friends with someone like Fox McCloud!"

"Friends? More like 'on good terms,' and I'm not even sure about that," Claude said with a shrug.

Yoshi was becoming aggravated by the subject. Once again, he was not in the spotlight, and it seemed that these two Cornerians didn't even realize he existed. "Fox!? Who cares about Fox! What about ME?"

"...aaaand who are you?" Don scratched his head, embarrassed that he had to ask.

Yoshi looked truly offended. "Who am **I**!? I'm Yoshi! Not any Yoshi, THE Yoshi! And I'll have you know that you wouldn't even be talking to Claude now if I hadn't saved his life a few hours ago!" Yoshi continued on his tangent, telling a highly extravagant and altered version of the battle in the island's forest against the two former mystery men.

Meanwhile, Fox searched for Randy. He thought it wouldn't be hard to find a white rabbit, but he hadn't located him yet. The irony.

"Fox?"

He recognized that gruff voice. It belonged to the bartender and the owner, a rhino named Cerd. Fox strolled over to the bar and leaned on it.

"I ain't seen you here since that ruckus over a year ago," the rhino claimed, setting a glass to the side. "What happened? You use to be one of my regular customers."

"I've got a girl now, and a son. I don't belong here...there's just no room for that in my life anymore. And, sorry about that little scuffle that happened here last time, Cerd."

A low sound reverberated from the Rhino's maw; he was chuckling. "Actually, that little mess increased business. When word got out that Fox McCloud got into a fight with someone here, people started flockin' in just to see fights. Now there's usually a brawl between two drunken fools every few weeks, but nothin' serious. Just enough to keep business rollin' in!"

Fox joined in on the chuckling. "As long as you're happy, Cerd. But look...I didn't come here to catch up on old times. I was looking for Randy. He still comes around here, right?"

"Yeah. I saw him earlier." Cerd quickly scoped his bar and found Fox's target sitting alone at a table in the far corner. He made a gesture with his head in the direction of Randy, the broken horn on his snout awkwardly pointing to the rabbit across the bar.

"Thanks, Cerd," Fox said before heading off to the corner.

The rabbit had been stuck in his own world, absently staring through the empty glass sitting ahead of him. He didn't notice the Fox standing next to him until a chair was pulled out and he plopped down into the seat.

"Fox!?" Randy blurted out in surprised, nearly reeling out of his chair. "Uh...I mean, hey...long time no see. It's been nearly a year, huh?"

"Look, Randy. I'm going to cut to the chase..." Fox instinctively looked over his shoulder and caught the glare of light reflecting off of Samus's suit. At least they hadn't gotten themselves into trouble just yet. "Like I was saying, I need to find some people...some dangerous people."

"You're still doing the Star Fox thing, huh?" The rabbit said, readjusting his shades.

"This goes beyond Star Fox."

"I see..." Randy whispered. "Alright, but only because you asked." He looked around and revealed a panel from inside of his black leather jacket.

If he was trying to be inconspicuous, he was doing the opposite, Fox thought.

"Now tell me what these people look like and I'll help you find them."

Samus pretty much ignored everything that was coming out of Yoshi's mouth, periodically checking for Fox to see if he had found his man. She became alert when she saw him talking to a white rabbit that revealed a strange panel from inside his jacket. She quickly went to work, activating her Scan Visor and analyzing the device.

Don became uninterested with Yoshi's story. He felt it was too wild to take seriously, and looked for anything to change the subject.

"So...there I was, with _no_ backup!" Yoshi said dramatically, waving his arms out for full effect. "Samus was down and on the brink of death. Claude was quaking uncontrollably in his blue boots. And only I-"

"Uh...what's your robot friend doing?" Don asked, pointing to Samus and the information flashing across her visor.

"I'm not a robot," Samus uttered starkly, and continued scanning the device.

"I'm not finished with my story!" Yoshi whined.

"Yes you are," Claude said, holding Yoshi's jaws shut. "Don, take that exaggerated story with a grain of salt. The only thing that was truthful about that whole thing was about the two men that attacked the Yoshi village."

"Yoshi can be full of himself sometimes," Captain Falcon said, patting the skunk on the shoulder. "We've all learned to tune him out, and you will too! Isn't that right, Samus?"

There was no response. "See! She's so used to ignoring him that she probably can't even hear me now."

"I knew it!" Samus cheered, shutting the scan visor off. Noticing the confused glances, she began to explain. "Fox found his man. And remember a year ago...how Jeff found out about those 'forbidden artifacts,' including the Amulets of Light and Darkness?"

"Yeah, so?" Yoshi said bitterly, still seething from having his story cut short.

"That locater device is one of those forbidden artifacts! My scan confirmed it." Samus was quite excited. The idea that they had stumbled across another 'forbidden artifact' from past adventures, and its infinite capabilities at their fingertips was invigorating to her. She almost forgot where they were and what they were there for. "I just wish that my visor could pick up sound. I'd really like to know what they're talking about."

What Samus didn't know was that the conversation wasn't half as interesting as she imagined it would have been.

"Blue hair? Is that it?"

"Well, the other guy wore a brown coat," Fox said, rubbing his temple as if the act would bring forth more details from his memory. "I didn't really get a good look at them."

"Sorry Fox, but I don't think I can find them with details this vague." Randy was startled by the sudden banging of Fox's fist on the table, causing his glass to clatter on the tabletop.

"Look, what's the ridiculous name you have for this device? The 'Ultimate Locater!' What kind of ultimate locater can't help me find these people? They're dangerous and could hurt more innocent people at any minute, damnit!"

Randy sighed. "Alright...there's one more method that can help you. But I find it to be the most intriguing function of the device. You'll see." He handed the device over to Fox, who held it firmly in both hands. The device looked like a flat panel monitor, and the dark screen came to life when Randy flicked a switch on the side. The perplexed look of Fox's face was no longer reflected back at him from the screen. Now, green grid lines began to draw themselves out.

Randy grinned wryly. "I know this is going to sound weird, but close your eyes and think of the first time you saw the two men you're looking for. Think of their life essence and their very existence, and think of the exact moment you laid eyes on them. What you felt. What you saw. Aw...Fox, just do it!" He cried out when he could take Star Fox leader's angry glare no longer.

Fox felt a strange sensation in his palms, and he began to do as Randy instructed. And it all came back to him. The dark forest he was storming through with Krystal right on his heels. The blaster he grasped tightly in his palm. And the shock he felt when he spotted Samus' crumpled form along the forest ground...only feet away from the two shadowed figures that were illuminated only by the flames consuming the forest.

"It worked!" Randy cried joyfully, bringing Fox back to reality. The two dark figures he saw in his mind appeared as green silhouettes on the screen. The image began to shrink and green lines exploded along the display, forming a map Fox was finding hard to read. Randy had nearly snatched it out of Fox's hands when his shades almost fell off of his face once he read the completed map.

"Fox...are you sure you needed me for this? Were you yanking my leg?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He finally leaned over to look at the locater, and went wide-eyed.

"Do you know what they're saying now?" Captain Falcon asked, peeping over one of Samus' massive shoulder pads as if they would give him enhanced senses.

"Fox looks shocked. He hasn't said anything for awhile. I'm getting a bad feeling..." Samus muttered. "I'm going to go over there and find out what's wrong."

"Uh...guys," Don struggled to keep Clyde balanced since he had managed to fall unconscious standing up. But that wasn't what was troubling him. "I know you said the story was exaggerated, but are the descriptions of the people that burned the village true? Because I think they just walked in."

"_**What!?**_" Samus whipped around, and sure enough, Jack and Rudy were standing near the entrance. They parted, making room for their ringleader: the man in black, still clutching his enigmatic suitcase.

"Hello Nintendo scum. Are you prepared to die?"

* * *

_A little author's notes...the Forbidden Artifacts and the Amulets of Light and Darkness were featured in KIJ3. They are mysterious, powerful items that were planned to be implemented into tournaments but simply couldn't due to their power, and were locked away throughout the Nintendoverse. Hey, I had to have direct references to other stories in this series too, alright? Read it if you haven't already.  
_

_I have no idea when chapter 14 will be finished, but it will be one of the biggest and best chapters to date - action, story, revelations, and more. From here on out, the magnitude of events to come will continue to climb up the scale, and there's no turning back. My tour through the Nintendoverse has turned into something much worse!_


	14. Chapter 14: A Bar Full of Firearms

Has anyone been keeping up with the official SSBB site? Listed on the musicians page is Michiko Naruke. She composed the majority of Wild Arms games, so I guess it's not so out of place after all ;)

On a more relevant note, this is the biggest chapter yet, with action, revelations, and more. And it's only going to escalate from this point! **  
**

* * *

**Chapter 14:**_ A Bar Full of Firearms_

"How _dare_ you show your face in Corneria!" Samus roared in anger, her left hand balling into a fist near her chest. The man in black simply chuckled in response, upsetting the bounty huntress further. Her arm cannon hummed to life as a globe of orange energy grew near the tip. She was prepared to attack until Captain Falcon grabbed the cannon and pointed it towards the ground.

"Samus, stop it!" he pleaded. "This place is full of people and they might get hurt. You don't want to hurt them, do you?"

Her arm shook with anger, but the energy buildup was finally quelled and her cannon returned to normal. His words echoed in her head, and she wanted to chuckle. He sounded so juvenile, but it was one of the things she liked about him.

"That's right. You don't want to hurt them, do you?" The man mocked with a wicked grin.

The activity in the bar was dying down as attention started to shift to the opposing forces. The fight many had hoped would occur seemed to be only seconds away.

"Why are you here?" Claude asked, a hand loosely placed on the hilt of the sword he had yet to wield.

"If you must know, Claude, it wasn't just to eliminate your lowly friends," the man said in a civil manner. "But that's all I'm willing to divulge to you at the moment. Oh, and please don't die yet." He snapped his fingers, getting the attention of Jack and Rudy. "Deal with them," he muttered.

Rudy and Jack stepped forward, both bearing cold smirks of their own that sent a chill through Claude. It was so uncharacteristic of them. What happened? He was determined to find out eventually.

Jack flung the bottom of his brown overcoat behind him, revealing the sheathed sword wrapped around his jeans, while Rudy tightened the red bandanna under his blue hair before grabbing the ARM strapped to his back.

"Is that how it's going to be?" Fox said, appearing from behind Link. "Good, because I was itching for a fight with you guys." He brandished his blaster and a long silence ensued, both parties waiting for the other to act first. The patrons of the bar teetered on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Would the fight happen? Maybe someone would back out. After all, the man commanding Jack and Rudy was armless beyond what appeared to them as a normal black briefcase. He would leave his grunts to do the fighting for him.

"ELEVEN!!" Clyde screamed drunkenly, breaking the silence and drawing attention to himself. The wallaby clutched Don's shoulder, vaguely aware of the situation.

"You guys are still here!?" Claude exclaimed, turning to the skunk and wallaby. "Go! Get out of here! Everybody!"

But no one moved.

Don gave Claude a solemn look upon his striped face. "Look, if these guys are bothering you..."

"We can handle this," Samus said, with emphasis by Link's gesture of nodding his head. "You look like you're in no position to fight anyway, with your friend and all..."

"I guess you're right," Don said, clutching onto Clyde before he slid off of his shoulder and onto the floor. "There's a back door. I think I'll go use it."

Claude watched as Don led his drunken buddy towards the back of the bar while Samus joined Fox in keeping weapons trained on Rudy and Jack. Unfortunately, Don and Clyde were the only two with enough sense to leave when they had the chance.

"A nice gesture, but I would have suggested that you didn't waste your time," the man in black said. They had almost forgotten about him. "Those two will die eventually."

It was the opportunity Fox was waiting for. "That may be so, but you're going to die NOW!" He opened fire on the man, but his shot was deflected by the quick swordsmanship of Jack, who had appeared before him in a blur.

Fox glowered. This guy was fast. And accurate. A deadly combination, but not impossible, so Fox continued to unload laserfire upon the black-suited man. The confident, cool look behind the glasses that occasionally reflected the light of gunfire was unsettling to say the least, which provoked Samus into joining in with shots of the Power Beam. Claude soon assisted them with the Phase Gun, as did Captain Falcon with his newly returned pistol, and it truly became a bar full of firearms.

Jack's movements became nothing more than a blur, a testament of his inhuman skill with his blade. He deflected shots in all directions, sending most of the bar's patrons under tables for shelter from the ricocheting, whizzing laserfire. Rudy was not to be outdone in the gunfight, and wielded a familiar ARM: The Hand Cannon.

"This isn't working!" Captain Falcon cried over the rapid sound of the firearms, and looked out of the corner of his helmet's visor just in time to see Rudy open fire on the group. They all scattered, save for Yoshi, who took the brunt of the blast and was sent reeling into tables and people, which triggered the first signal that all hell broke loose: animals of all shapes and sizes, caught up in the mood, began to turn onto each other. A brawl had finally broken loose in The Bronze Horn.

"Animaland went to hell real quick!" Claude yelled out. The layout of the bar had suddenly changed with chairs, tables, and animal people now strewn about the floors. He could no longer see Jack or Rudy through the crowds of fighting, and instead took it upon himself to locate Yoshi and see if he was okay.

"Ooooh," the dinosaur in question moaned, finally realizing what had happened to him. "Ugh! This has to be some kind of sick joke! Everytime we fight these people, I get blown up!" His body slid off of the broken table he landed on, and he got a clear view of who was standing over him. Even on his back with his world turned upside-down, Yoshi recognized that smug look from anywhere.

"Ganondorf!"

"On your back as usual, I see." Ganondorf chuckled at his own joke. "Looks like your poor fighting skills can't even be compensated for in an all out brawl."

Yoshi rolled over and picked himself up off of the floor with a frown. Ganondorf's arrogance always did remind him of Boshi, and vice versa. "You wouldn't be talking all of that trash if we had a match right now!"

"I wouldn't have to. Your predictable loss would speak loud enough on its own." He let out a particularly haughty laugh over the chaos of the bar. At least one person was enjoying the conversation.

Yoshi growled. "We'll see about that, but there's something more important at the moment. Those people that came into the bar work for Sony and want to wipe us all out!"

Ganondorf held a fist under his chin, contemplating the situation. "Hmm...maybe I'll deal with them myself, after they've killed you all off, of course. I wouldn't exactly be the King of Evil if I helped you people out too many times."

"Yoshi!" Claude ducked under two brawling horses only to watch the King of Evil rise into the air and shoot to the other side of the bar. "Was that Ganondorf!?"

"Yeah, and clearly he's good for nothing!" Yoshi finally noticed that Claude was alone, and his frown twisted into an even more sour face. "Oh, I see no one else could be bothered to see if I was okay!"

"Actually, I don't know what happened to everyone else." Claude looked around before ducking a flying glass. "But let's stick together and find 'em." The duo dived headfirst into the brawl.

Ganondorf flew over the fights below before shooting straight through a glass window, laughing the entire way. It was an odd sight to see someone willingly go barreling through a closed window, but that was Ganondorf for you, leaving the shattered glass to clatter near Link's feet.

The Hero of Time had taken it upon himself to engage Jack since no one else was around. He broke into a dash and met Jack's slash with the Hylian Shield, jabbing at the enemy swordsman with the Master Sword. The blade didn't make contact with the enemy, but it did brush against Jack's overcoat, making a small tear.

Jack was both displeased and impressed. He really liked his overcoat, but it wasn't often he got to fight swordsmen of this caliber back on Filgaia. However, his emotions were quickly suppressed with the continuation of the battle.

He jumped back near the entrance to the bar, making distance between himself and Link. He held his sword back behind him and made a clean and wide slash with the blade that created three glowing crescent shockwaves in the air: His _Sonic Buster_ attack.

Link knelt and held the Hylian Shield firmly ahead of him. The shockwaves struck and bent around the shield, threatening to push Link back and away before continuing onward past him and into the fights behind him. He retaliated quickly, aiming the Hookshot and launching the chain. It narrowly missed Jack, who dashed to the side, and embedded the pointed head of the chain into the bar's wall.

The Hookshot retracted, pulling Link in, who met Jack with a clash of the blades. As they held their position, blades locked, a blue mouse crawled out of Jack's pocket and along his shoulder, jumping over and onto Link. He swore he heard the mouse chuckled as it crawled down his side and grabbed the Hookshot before jumping away with it and scurrying into the fighting crowds.

Link broke the struggle and countered with a spin attack. Jack blocked the attack with the sheath of his sword, but the force was strong enough to knock him off his feet and into the crowds, where Link gave chase.

At another portion of the bar, Rudy stood away and alone from the brawling patrons of The Bronze Horn, as if he had no interest or purpose in being there. Navigating the crowds were Fox and Samus, who he caught a glimpse of and aimed at with the Hand Cannon. Instinctively, they took cover behind an overturned table, but no gunfire came.

"That's odd," Samus muttered. "He's not shooting at us through the crowds."

"Which makes this a lot easier," Fox said before making two shots with the Blaster over the table.

Rudy didn't retaliate.

"That IS odd," Fox finally admitted. "If he's not even going to defend himself then we're wasting our time." They both fell into silence when they spotted movement near the blue-haired youth. It was the familiar attire and briefcase of the man in black that caught their attention immediately.

"That's who we should be focusing on," Samus said. Fox nodded in agreement.

"Rudy, attack them by any means necessary!" they heard him command before slinking off to the side of the bar and through the crowds. The sudden restraint the boy held before was cast away in an instant, and he opened fire on the crowds. The flying bodies signified that the brawl became more of a massacre. Rudy was clearing the area out.

"Someone's got to stop him!" Samus yelled over the explosive shells of the Hand Cannon. "We have to get the gun away just long enough to immobilize him..."

"**FALCON KICK!**"

Captain Falcon dived straight for Rudy in a flame powered kick. Rudy dodged just enough to avoid direct contact but lost the Hand Cannon in the process; it was kicked out of his reach and into the chaos of the bar. Rudy attacked the recovering Falcon with a spin kick, which his leg was caught in mid-spin by his opponent. Captain Falcon closed the gap before rocketing away from Rudy with his _Falcon Dive_ attack, sending his opponent barreling away in a burst of flames.

Rudy was quick to react, regaining his figure in midair and landing in a kneeling position. He prepared another ARM, his fourth one...which he was saving for particularly pesky adversaries. He released the Twin Orbs, and the two satellites went to work immediately by swarming Captain Falcon and ramming into his head relentlessly.

"Make them stop!" he cried, running into the crowds in hopes of losing the satellites.

Fox and Samus quickly closed the distance, surprising Rudy who's focus had been entirely on Falcon before. Samus released two low-charge bursts from her Ice Beam, sealing his hands and feet together in a thick sheet of ice. Rudy toppled over before Fox pushed him against the wall and began interrogating him.

"Why are you here!?" Fox demanded.

"..."

"What does your master want!?"

"..."

"Trying to be a Link?"

"..."

"I'll make you talk!"

"Fox, stop!" Samus grabbed his hand as he raised it to strike Rudy. "We are not torturers."

"He deserves more than the slap he was going to get!" Fox barked, staring angrily into Rudy's gray eyes.

Gray? That was a strange color.

"Beating him until he talks is not something characteristic of neither you nor I, Fox." Samus scoped the room. "Instead, we should use him as leverage against our mystery man. It'll be interesting seeing how he responds, don't you think?"

"Whatever you say," Fox muttered, hauling Rudy by the shoulder. "Get up, punk. You're our prisoner."

* * *

"Did you see anybody?"

"You mean besides the people that were just blown up?" Yoshi managed to say while ducking under a flying mug of beer, its owner still attached to the glass.

"Wait, I see somebody," Claude said, pointing through the crowds. They recognized the black suit at once.

Yoshi was caught between anger and excitement. "That sneaky slimeball...let's get him!" he declared with a newfound passion.

Somehow, Claude ended up leading the way.

"Give it to me," the man demanded, his hand outstretched as if expecting to receive what he sought at the moment. His stern face gazed down upon the white rabbit on the floor before him.

"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about..." Randy stuttered, his arm placed over an outline in his jacket.

"I have no patience for you, rabbit."

"Alright..." Randy complied, reaching into his jacket. He pulled out a blaster and opened fire, only for the shot to be deflected by the black briefcase. With one motion, the briefcase was slammed into Randy, knocking the blaster away. The locater device slipped out of his jacket and clattered to the floor. As the man kneeled to pick it up, Claude and Yoshi burst through the battling patrons.

"Get him! GET HIM NOW!" Yoshi commanded excitedly, but Claude was already on the move and leapt onto the man's back.

"Got you!"

And that's when it happened.

Though they didn't move, Claude could _feel_ the sensation tingling through his body, and his eyes only confirmed that something was happening. Everything around him was cast in multiple shades of blue. He jumped back only to find that himself and the man in black were the only things in natural color. He soon realized that the chaos in the bar had become a dull echo, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well...how 'bout it?"

The man in black dusted himself off. He seemed completely relaxed and calm. "I was starting to worry that I'd never manage to get time to talk to you alone."

"Alone?" Claude looked around. They were still in the bar, even if it did look like the place was doused in blue food coloring.

"Where'd he go!?" He heard Yoshi whine.

"I'm right here, fool," Claude replied. He waved his hand in front of the oblivious dinosaur's face before Yoshi stepped right through him. "The hell!?"

"We're on another plane of existence. They can't see or touch us, and we can't interact with them," the man explained. "It's just one of my...gifts. And only I can bring us back." He smirked.

Claude folded his arms and found himself walking aimlessly in a circular pattern. "What do you want?"

"Like I said before, we need to talk."

"Alright, spit it out."

"My name is Ken Watanabe. I am an Executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc."

"Whoa, you mean the same Ken Watanabe who's in the credits for like, every video game ever made?"

Ken's normally calm or grinning face seemed to become slightly sour from that question. "...no."

"Oh," Claude said. "Well you can't be related to the actor, right?"

"No!"

"So basically what you're tryin' to tell me is that you ain't nobody."

"If that's how you want to put it," Ken spoke quietly. "But this 'nobody' has a job offer for you."

Claude let slip a skeptical laugh. "What kinda job? It can't be any good comin' from you."

"Well, you'd consider yourself quite the accomplished gamer, right? To go from your simplistic life to...this place in a matter of hours. It's quite a few leaps and bounds out of the ordinary, don't you think?"

Claude didn't respond.

"You and I are one of the few humans to experience such a unique piece of history. It should be cherished and preserved."

"Cherished and preserved!?" Claude remarked, unable to control his outburst. "Then why are you tryin' to ruin everything!? You break down cities, you set villages on fire, and you definitely had to manipulate the Wild Arms characters because they would never lift a finger for your cause. And all for what!?"

Ken didn't immediately respond, but glanced to his side instead. "That reminds me!" he said cheerily. "Cecilia, come here."

"Cecilia!?" Claude said in disbelief as he finally noticed the woman standing near the entrance of the bar. Like himself and Ken, she was in full color.

The woman was Princess Cecilia Lynne Adlehyde. Her blond hair was cut short and she wore a blue jacket with an orange hood. It was an unfitting outfit for a princess, but it was what she wore as a 'disguise' when she didn't want to be noticed as royalty. And she had gray eyes...that wasn't right...

As odd of a time as it was, Claude had the slight feeling that Cecilia and Zelda had a lot in common and would bond if they ever were to meet. Under better circumstances, of course.

Cecilia walked towards them, but moved at high speeds, almost appearing as a blur. The movement on this plane was strange. That explained how Ken got around so fast when he was 'teleporting.'

"It looks like your comrades need your help," Ken said once Cecilia approached. Looking through the crowds, he noticed that Rudy was apprehended and that Jack was struggling to hold his own with Link in another lock of the blades that had his back against the wooden floor.

Ken shifted the locater from under one arm to the holding the briefcase, giving one arm complete freedom. He locked hands with Cecilia and sure enough, her body became devoid of all color but blue. Judging by the startled cries of Randy and Yoshi, she had phased into the normal plane, most likely appearing out of thin air to the two of them. Ken remained behind to continue the conversation.

"Where were we...? Ah yes, the job offer! Claude, I've done what I've done by the orders of my superiors, who I happen to agree with. Judging by your face, you don't agree with my methods, but I wouldn't expect that many would. It is simply a way of preserving the Sony Corp."

"You say that like it's some kinda routine that just...happens! Like you're not wipin' people out!" Claude stated with a fiery passion.

"Claude, you're becoming clouded in judgment, most likely due to the Digital World Animation Machine. Think about it...would you feel this passionate about the subject if you had never stepped across the dimensional barrier? If these things didn't seem so real?"

"But they ARE real!"

"Yes, but who made you their hero? Why are you the one given the task of 'doing the right thing?'"

Claude didn't immediately reply. He heard another cry and noticed that Cecilia was on the attack against Yoshi and Randy.

"I might not be anybody's hero," he finally said. "But I'm definitely _not_ helpin' you."

"Then let our civil conversation end with our return." Ken held out his arm.

Was this guy serious? Claude wasn't sure what to think. He couldn't have been that bad if the guy wasn't going to leave him stranded on this plane.

Taking his chances, Claude grabbed Ken's arm and they returned to their normal plane, everything gaining color once again. Randy shrieked at their sudden appearance, probably halfway to a heart attack after all this excitement. Yoshi, on the other hand, was busy trying not to get roasted by Cecilia, who cast a fire spell that sent a ring of flames spiraling towards the dinosaur.

"A little help here!!" Yoshi cried. His backside was nearly hit with the spell. The spinning flames collided with a table, making it explode into flaming wood chips and blast Yoshi away.

Claude turned around to find Ken already on the move, heading back towards the entrance of the tavern.

"Claude! SOMEBODY!!!" Yoshi screamed as Cecilia held her staff high in the air, preparing another spell.

Claude didn't want to fight Cecilia, but he wasn't going to let Yoshi get hurt or killed over his guilt. Rather than grabbing the Phase Gun, he unsheathed the sword at his side and held it in front of him in an offensive stance. It was the first time he would wield the sword – and this technique – since he arrived in the Nintendoverse.

The blade started to glow white, and was covered in a blue aura. Claude took a deep breath and prepared to strike. "_AIR SLASH!_" He shouted, swiping the sword against the ground and creating a blue and white shockwave that glided across the floor, smaller shockwaves snaking behind it. The blast plowed into Cecilia and tore the ground up around her, sending her to the floor.

"Whoa..." Claude uttered in disbelief staring at the sword, then at his own hands. "I can't believe that worked," he said with a grin.

A moan brought him out of his trance. He rushed over to Yoshi and grabbed the dinosaur by the shoulders. "Hey! You can't lay here, she's goin' to get back up!"

"Claude..." Yoshi whispered. "Hey, thanks for helping me..."

Yoshi's sudden modesty caught Claude by surprise, but not quite as much of a surprise as the vortex that suddenly swallowed them both and a few of the bar patrons. Claude's world had become a blur as he spun in the vortex. He knew immediately that it was Cecilia's doing, since it was one of her spells in the game after all. It would wear itself out, and he'd just have to ride it out. And avoid the flying furniture.

The vortex began to expand and the fights in the bar were beginning to disperse once the drunks began to realize that punching each other out wasn't cutting it here. They were quickly outclassed by the people with extraordinary abilities, and couldn't compete with lasers, shockwaves, and spells being tossed around the bar. Not to mention the vortex.

Link had Jack cornered until the vortex had throw a chair his way. He raised his shield, just blocking the chair. It exploded into splinters on contact.

Jack took advantage of the opportunity, initiating his Accelerator ability. He disappeared right before Link's eyes in a speed blur, then appeared behind the hero and struck him in the back. He held his sword out to his side and it turned a sinister red.

Jack then leapt high into the air, nearly touching the ceiling, and came down near Fox and Samus. He used his _Meteor Dive_ attack, slamming his blade into the tavern's floor where it ignited into a fiery explosion, blowing Fox and Samus away. Rudy smirked as the two satellites returned, smashing into his icy restraints and freeing him.

"Bastards!" Fox screamed in frustration, grabbing his blaster and preparing to open fire on the duo. He was beaten to the punch. Literally.

"**FALCON...PUNCH!**" Captain Falcon slid out of no where, his form engulfed in a flaming falcon heading directly for Jack and Rudy. They dodged, leaving Falcon to be struck by a pillar of purple lightning.

Samus reacted instantly by firing at the source. The shots from her Power Beam were reflected back towards her by an orange barrier surrounding Cecilia. Another spell.

Fox and Samus rolled out of the way of the reflected shots. Cecilia quickly dashed between them and towards her comrades, her barrier engulfing them too.

The vortex had died by now, dropping everything that was caught in it to the floor. Claude got up and noticed the trio standing together. Gripping his sword tightly, he prepared another Air Slash. He struck the ground and the familiar blue and white shockwaves ripped across the floor. The barrier was trigger and his own attack was sent back in his direction, barely giving him enough time to jump out of the way.

Soon enough, a boomerang ricocheted off of the barrier and back towards Link, who caught it with his free hand. Nothing was breaking through, and just when another strategy was to be adapted, a whistle sounded.

There was another person who had been standing with Ken near the entrance. His silver, spiked hair stood tall and he seemed to have an affinity for the color black, because he wore a sleeveless black vest, gloves, and pants. There were also a few chains and zippers where chains and zippers didn't need to be. Was he waiting outside the whole time?

"Come," Ken commanded. "We have another stop to make." He looked down at the map on the locater in his hands and gave one of his characteristic wicked smiles. "There's a baby we should visit."

Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia complied. The blue mouse that had stolen Link's hookshot earlier scampered to Jack and climbed onto his shoulder.

To make sure no one followed, Cecilia released another Vortex spell as they slipped through the entrance, and everyone made an attempt to stay as far away from it. Samus launched a missile into the center of the vortex and the magic was dispersed from the blast. Ken was long gone, but at least she learned that she could stop the spell before it grabbed anyone.

The battle-worn Smashers picked themselves up. The mood wasn't too happy, even though no one was seriously hurt. The adversaries they had been hunting managed to attack them, steal a powerful artifact right from under their noses, and successfully fled. Not to mention it seemed that more and more people were added to their ranks everytime they appeared.

Captain Falcon couldn't help but notice his friends' gloomy faces. Even Link look disturbed as he retrieved his discarded hookshot from the floor. He didn't quite know what to say about what happened, and instead looked towards the future, which he realized seemed equally as grim.

"Well guys..." Falcon said. "Now what?"

* * *

I've been taking advantage of my free time this summer and have been getting more writing done than usual. Heck, I'm halfway through chapter 16 right now, which means it won't be long before I update with chapter 15! 


	15. Chapter 15: Babies Are Psychic

Well, it's like I said. I've made more progress than ever before, which means updates can be more frequent. Right now I'm looking at maybe 2 a week, depending on how long I can keep up the pace.

This chapter is shorter than the last...but like I said, things will only escalate, and a lot happens in this one too...

**

* * *

****Chapter 15:** _Babies Are Psychic_

"We're sorry about the mess," Fox said to the large rhino, patting him on the back.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Cerd replied a bit happily considering the situation. "A fight like this'll definitely get me more customers. Just promise me that you'll kick those bastards' asses, alright Fox?" He took a broom and began sweeping up the splintered pieces of wood littered across the floor and past Randy, who was still scared out of his mind and shaking.

Claude and Samus were sitting in two of the few chairs that weren't broken in the battle, while Captain Falcon struggled with a three-legged chair of his own. Link and Yoshi didn't bother to look for any. Link simply stood by while Yoshi had made the table his seat.

"He told me his name was Ken Watanabe and he definitely works for Sony," Claude relayed what he had been told earlier.

"Wait, do you mean the same Ken Watanabe that works on every video game ever made?" Yoshi inquired from his position atop the table.

"No."

"Man," Yoshi muttered disappointedly, "why couldn't he have been someone cool like that?"

"Okay..." Samus murmured. "We know who he is, where he works, and that he wants to destroy us all. It's not really a question of why. That's easy to figure out." She stopped and let out a thoughtful hum. "No, the question is how. He didn't tell you anything else?"

"Not really," Claude replied. "Just that he was told to do it by his superiors."

"So where did he take you when he teleported?" Yoshi intervened. "Was it Sony HQ or something? Is that where he got the girl?"

"We didn't teleport,"Claude explained. "He said that we were on 'another plane of existence.' It was really crazy. Cecilia was there too, and she took orders like a robot, pretty much the same way Jack and Rudy did. So I'm pretty sure Ken's got 'em all under some kind of hypnosis or whatever."

"So does anyone know how to break hypnotism?" Captain Falcon finally chimed in. "They probably want us to set them free. At least, I know I wouldn't like being controlled very much..."

"Set them free?" Fox repeated incredulously as he approached the table. "They're putting **us** and everyone else in danger. I should've taken the blue-haired kid out when I had the chance!"

"Look, we're not going to kill them. They're innocents in this," Samus stated, giving Fox a glare through the visor he didn't like.

"Oh really? So what if they kill somebody?" he replied angrily. "Just because they're being controlled won't change that!"

"It won't change that they were being manipulated either!" Samus retorted, standing up to meet Fox, who she happened to be taller than.

"Since when were you worried about their well being?" Fox pointed accusingly at her. "Worry about yourself! That's who they're after!"

"Guuuuyyyyys," Captain Falcon whined, wedging himself between the two. "Stop, please? We still need to figure out what to do next!"

Samus sat back down and Fox backed off. Captain Falcon (as rare of an occurrence as it were) was right.

"Any leads?" Samus finally asked after a long pause, looking around the table hopefully.

"Eh, that Ken guy is a little weird," Yoshi responded casually. "He said something about visiting a baby."

Link shifted uncomfortably. What Yoshi said didn't settle well with anyone.

"...Baby?" Claude thought aloud. "The only baby here I can think of is...damn!"

Fox was the first one out of the door. Followed by Link, Samus, and Captain Falcon.

"What!? Why's everyone running?" Yoshi was puzzled, still perched atop the table.

"Come on!" Claude yelled, grabbing Yoshi's arm and pulling him out of the Bronze Horn.

* * *

"And then, the werewolves stomped Niko until he was nothing more than cheese spread," Niko read from the New Testaments: Secret of Mana book. But the child lay wide awake. The story wasn't putting him to sleep like it normally did when Iris read it.

Baby James finally made an agitated sound, alerting his babysitter. "Probably hungry," Niko muttered, setting the book in the chair and heading off to the kitchen.

The fox pup sat up in his crib, suddenly aware of his surroundings. With no one in sight, he crawled over to the edge of the crib and reached up, pulling himself up and over the bars. But instead of crawling further into his room, he headed in the opposite direction. He crawled out of the _window_.

James tumbled out of the window frame, bouncing on an old mattress Fox had thrown into the backyard a week ago. He let out an innocent giggle before crawling off of the mattress and far, far away from his home in his blue pajamas.

"James!!" Niko cried as he walked into the empty room, dropping the bottle. He dashed to the crib to find no trace of the child. Looking up and out of the window, he spotted the tiny form of James scampering out of the neighborhood and straight for a construction site. He'd surely get himself killed there!

Niko dived out of the window and gave chase, just in time to miss the ringing phone, and the crash of a door.

Ken stepped into Fox's home first, followed by the silver haired boy and the Wild Arms trio. The boy glanced worriedly to the ringing phone.

"Ignore it, Derrick," Ken said quickly.

Derrick replied with a grunt. "I told you not to call me that."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Okay, Salvas." He looked around. The television was on, but apparently no one was watching it. "Search the house," he ordered. Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia complied. "We'll look for the kid," he told Derrick, leading him into the hallway.

They stepped into James' room to find it empty. Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia returned a minute later with no news to report.

"They knew we were coming," Ken muttered, slightly annoyed. "No matter!" His tune quickly changed to that of a cheery one. "Salvas, if you will," he said, holding his hand out.

Derrick was carrying the locater and handed it over. Ken smiled brightly as a map formed before his very eyes. "They're not far from here! Let's go!" And with that, they quickly exited the home.

* * *

"Dammit!" Fox screamed into his communicator with pure frustration, leading Samus, Link, Claude, Yoshi, and Captain Falcon through the streets of Corneria in a mad dash. No one was answering the phone in his house.

"Did you contact the Great Fox yet?" Samus called to Fox. "Zelda can use Farore's Wind to get there before any of us!"

Fox's heart skipped a beat. It was worth a shot. He felt a slight tinge of relief when he heard Krystal's voice on the other side of his communicator.

"Krystal! Have Zelda use Farore's Wind to get to my house!"

"Fox, what's going on...?" Krystal asked, fearing Fox's tone. He sounded a little crazy.

"Just DO it!!" He commanded in a roar, making Krystal jump suddenly. "...and tell her to bring Iris," he added in a softer tone. She did as she was told.

The Bronze Horn actually wasn't that far from Fox's home, but it felt like everyone had been running for hours when they arrived, to find Zelda and Iris stepping out of a door hanging off of it's hinges, awestruck.

"Fox!" Iris cried, diving into him for a hug. "Our home...and James! They came for him...?" Fox nodded.

Zelda looked around for answers, clearly disturbed. "What in Nayru's name happened here?"

"Inside," Fox spoke. It was a single word but with enough power to usher everyone into the home.

The television was still running. Fox quickly headed for James' room, and everyone followed. He stepped inside and picked up the bottle Niko had dropped earlier.

He looked to his comrades. "There's no sign of a struggle beyond the broken door." Fox sighed. "Looks like Niko and James got out of here just in time."

"Where are they?" Iris asked, desperate for an answer. Fox turned away, so she looked to everyone with her, and her eyes stopped on Zelda. "Zelda! Can't you use magic to locate them or something?"

"Yes," Zelda replied solemnly. "If they're within a short range..." She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together near her chest and silently prayed to the goddesses of Hyrule to expand her mental sight. She suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Samus gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"They're fine, near a construction site, but they're being pursued quickly!"

"The construction site!?" Fox ran towards the window. Sure enough, he could see it looming in the distance. He turned and stared Iris in the eyes, before saying in a grave manner, "Iris..."

"Yes," she replied with a nod, wordlessly agreeing to his suggestion.

They walked over to the empty wall, gaining a few curious glances. Fox felt along the surface and pressed an invisible panel. Part of the wall slide away, revealing a small metal chamber with multiple racks packed with weapons. Blasters, Machine Guns, Sniper Rifles, Gatling Guns, Rocket Launchers and more.

"Isn't it a little dangerous to keep all of these weapons in the baby's room?" Captain Falcon questioned, his jaw agape.

"We're not stupid," Fox responded, grabbing a sniper rifle. "We keep the ammunition in our room."

Iris looked the weapons over and hoisted the Gatling Gun from the chamber with a malicious glint in her eye. "They're not going to touch my baby."

"You guys better take something now," Fox said. Everyone declined. Everyone except Yoshi, who had pounced on the Rocket Launcher in seconds.

"We have got to get one of these on the island!" He uttered excitedly, rubbing the rocket launcher affectionately.

The chamber shut and Fox led the group into his room, where he opened another concealed chamber. This one was filled with energy packs, ammo, and grenades.

"Last chance," Fox called as he, Iris, and Yoshi raided the chamber. "Alright then." He closed the chamber and gave the group one final glance. "I'm counting on you guys..." he said quietly.

* * *

James crawled into the construction site, which was bathed in tall lights for the late workers. Noticing a dog man carrying materials on his shoulder, he crawled towards this curious new person at full force.

"James!" Niko cried, only to witness the infant scamper onto a small round disk with the worker. "Hey!"

The worker absently flicked the switch to the hoverpad, oblivious to the child at his feet. Lights at the bottom of the pad signaled that it had whirred to life. It rose into the air with both occupants just before Niko could reach it.

"Hey!!" Niko called again. "There's a baby with you!"

The dog gave him a odd glance until he felt a tug on his leg. "Holy crap, there's a baby with me!"

"That's what I _said!_"

The worker gawked at the child as the hoverpad stopped, and put it in reverse motion. But it was already too late; James had crawled onto the thin structure of the building under construction.

Niko had nearly pushed the worker to the ground hopping onto the pad once it came back down and immediately headed up towards James. He was already within the building and crawling further in, so Niko had to test his balance by stepping onto one of the large bars and following him.

"Well, he's here," Ken announced, reading the map on the locater. Derrick glanced around while the three drones simply stood attentive, awaiting their next commands.

"Where? It's just a construction site."

Ken looked up and chuckled. "Apparently, up there." He pointed near the top of the building structure.

"How the heck did the kid get up there?" Derrick squawked. He squinted his eyes and noticed another figure in the sky. "There's somebody up there with him!"

"Rudy, knock them down!" Ken hissed, pointing towards the crawling baby. Rudy obeyed, grabbing the Hand Cannon ARM from his back and launching a shot into the air. It exploded without hitting any specific part of the building's structure, but the blast was too close for comfort. James apparently had an iron grip while Niko wasn't finding it so easy keeping balance.

"**Don't **shoot the child! I want him alive!" Ken ordered. Derrick leaned over and gave Ken a peculiar stare.

"But what about the other guy?"

"Oh, I don't care about him," Ken responded casually. "It doesn't matter one way or the other. Just get the child down from there."

"James!" Niko called. He was now crawling across the bars, inches away. James glanced back with a look upon his face that resembled worry.

Rudy fired again and the structure began to quake from the blast. James lied flat against the bar, but Niko wasn't so lucky. He fell, narrowly grabbing a bar from the floor below, preventing himself from plummeting all the way to the bottom.

"aHAhahahahaha!!!" Three harpies shrieked, soaring above the site. They took turns diving into the building's structure and laughing their heads off at Niko.

Rudy aimed again, but was interrupted by gunfire aimed at him. Ken and Derrick took cover behind a wall of stacked bars while Cecilia cooked up a spell, this time creating a green funnel around her body.

"Arrrgh!" Iris screamed, opening fire again with the Gatling Gun. Jack went to work deflecting beams with his sword while the green funnel surrounding Cecilia absorbed the shots aimed at her. With newfound energy, she spun and held her staff high in the air, casting her Zap spell. A column of lightning struck and tore across the ground in Iris's direction, narrowly missing her as Fox tackled the vixen out of harm's way.

"Don't worry guys!" Yoshi announced with a cocky smirk and rocket launcher positioned on his shoulder. "Let's see her absorb this!"Yoshi fired and went flying in the opposite direction from the force. The rocket missed Cecilia but did cause the building structure to shake violently, followed by various confused and frightened cries from the fleeing construction workers on the ground. That explosion signaled the beginning of a war they didn't want to be around for.

The bars Ken and Derrick had been taking cover behind had been dislodged, and the wall came crumbling down around them as the bars rolled out of their stacked position and to the ground. Upon spotting Ken, Iris nearly went berserk.

"I wouldn't do anything else like that if I were yoooouuuuu!" Ken sang in reference to the rocket.

"Tell us where our son is, NOW!" Fox demanded, bearing his fangs. Ken simply pointed upwards, and Iris' screams confirmed that they now realized where James was.

"Somebody, _please_...save James!!" She screamed hysterically. Samus responded immediately by Space Jumping into the air and towards the building, but was intercepted by Jack, who had used his Accelerator ability to move from the ground to the wooden blocks lined along the third floor. He unsheathed his sword and used a _Sonic Buster_ attack, slashing the air into crescent shockwaves. Samus unfurled mid-flip and stretched her body to avoid the shockwaves. She flicked her arm cannon and the familiar blue energy chain of the Grappling Beam extended outwards and latched onto the bars of a higher floor and pulled Samus in quickly.

Standing on the bars, Samus realized she was on the same floor as James. She let out a sigh of relief when she noticed that James was still clinging to the bar without a scratch on him, only to find herself blown away by a blast from the Hand Cannon, followed by maniacal laughter from her flying audience. She tumbled through the open space of the unfinished building, careening into Niko, who had still been holding on for his life.

Her reaction was instant, grabbing Niko by the arm and relying on the Grappling Beam again. It latched onto a bar, but her landing was not as graceful as before, finding that the beam reeled her in too fast, slamming her against the bar. She plummeted into sandbags below with Niko.

"aHAhahahahaha!!!" The harpies continued cackling madly.

"Samus!" Captain Falcon cried.

"C'mon, let's help!" Claude said to Link and Zelda.

"I think not!" Ken opened his briefcase and a salvo of missiles poured out of it. They all ducked for cover as the missiles soared overhead and into another part of the city. Now the Corneria Defense Force was really going to be pissed.

"Come on you bastard...just a few steps closer..." Fox muttered, the sniper rifle trained on Jack, who was now only feet away from James and ready to retrieve the child. "Ha!" He pulled the trigger, but Jack jumped away with the enhanced speed from his Accelerator. At least he hadn't gotten his hands on James yet. There was still hope. Or that's what Fox thought, until his heart sank at the sight of a small whirlwind that gently lifted James into its center.

"NOOOOoooooo!!" Iris shrieked, grabbing the Gatling Gun and opening fire upon all of her adversaries. The whirlwind slowly but surely carried James down towards Cecilia until he was in her arms. Iris stopped firing immediately, not risking the welfare of her child. Panic swept over her face. Dropping the Gatling Gun, she broke into a dash towards Cecilia. She'd rip her son from Cecilia's arms herself.

"Yes, YES!" Ken squealed delightedly, taking James from Cecilia's care. "Clear the area," he responded, noticing Iris and Fox, heading towards them at full speed. Cecilia prepared another spell.

"STOP!" Claude grabbed Iris from behind and attempted to pull her away. Fox turned back confused until he saw what Claude was a afraid of, and helped him drag Iris back. Cecilia prepared one of her more devastating spells: Blast. The top of the rod glowed a bright light blue and unleashed countless lasers that ripped into the ground and sent projectiles of magical energy flying into the air. Claude, Iris and Fox lost balance and slipped into a fresh hole created by the devastation, riding the spell out under cover.

Once the spell cleared, Ken rounded his group up. "Goodbye, Nintendo scum!" he said happily before using his powers. They all disappeared into thin air with one more in tow.

James was gone.


	16. Chapter 16: Bowser's Bad Day

Well now, I can't leave you on a cliffhanger forever! Like I said, things were escalating, and the story is past the halfway point, so...there will be several more chapters before I wrap this up, but until then, enjoy what's coming.

* * *

**Chapter 16: **_Bowser's Bad Day_

"...what are we doing here?" Derrick questioned, examining his surroundings. They were standing on a rocky hill. The sky was nearly black and lava flowed through valleys all around a lone fortress looming a distance ahead of them. "Now that I think about it, you haven't exactly told me why we have him either!" Derrick complained, pointing to the fox pup in one of Ken's arms.

"This child will represent the last piece of this world. And we're here because the nearest Gateway is in this area, but there's one more step we must take before reaching our goal." Ken leaned over to Cecilia, who was now holding the locater. The map confirmed their position, and the object of Ken's desires.

"Let's go," he said, starting the journey down the hill and towards the castle.

* * *

"It's no use..." Zelda whispered solemnly. "I can't sense them anywhere. There's a good chance they're not even in Lylat anymore."

Iris continued to sob. Fox held her tightly.

"Damn," Claude cursed, kicking a lone sandbag. "I wish I could tell Mr. Miyamoto what happened. He might know what to do next."

"Can't you just warp back to Earth or whatever?" Yoshi asked, sitting on the ground next to him.

"That might take too long. I wanted to talk to him right now."

A beam of light shot out of the sky and landed in Claude's pocket. He felt something pressing against his leg.

"You can talk to me now," a muffled voice said. Everyone looked towards Claude, shocked.

Claude grabbed the object in revealed it to be a sleek blue phone. "...Mr. Miyamoto?"

"Claude, I saw everything from here, and sent you this phone made with the DWA Machine. You can contact me at anytime."

"Then y'know about Ken Watanabe? He's from Sony and he travels through planes and-"

"I know, Claude," Miyamoto replied gravely. "I was informed earlier. It seems that Sony has become aware of their employee's actions and are willing to cooperate with us to stop him."

"Wait a minute," Claude said, his eyes narrowing. "That's not right. Ken told me that he was ordered by Sony to attack in the first place!" Miyamoto was silent.

"Well, Claude. I don't know how truthful Mr. Watanabe's words are, but the man I spoke to I've known since my early days in this industry. He's trustworthy."

Yoshi snatched the phone from Claude. "Hey!" he yelled into it. "Did say they're sending MORE people here?"

"Yes," Miyamoto replied. "These people will help."

Fox pushed Yoshi out of his way and grabbed the phone. "Can you locate my son from there?" he asked desperately.

"Ah, Fox. I can find him, but it'll take time."

Claude finally took the phone back. "So what do we do then?"

"You'll have to wait. The people being sent are actually considered Sony ambassadors, and they'll be there shortly. I'm giving temporary portal access."

"Ambassadors?" Claude repeated.

"Is there any information you can give that might help me find Mr. Watanabe sooner?"

Claude thought for a moment. "Like I said before, he travels over planes of reality."

"Do you know what plane?"

"It was blue. Sorry, that's all I know."

"That actually helps a lot," Miyamoto replied. "I can check recent activities on that plane to search quickly. I'll let you know when I find them," he said, then fell silent. "Claude...keep up the good work." The call ended.

"Well," said Zelda finally said. "We were going to have to wait around anyway. I contacted Marth and Roy while I was on the Great Fox. They're on their way..."

* * *

"Marioooo!" Peach cried from the cage hanging above Bowser's throne, where the king himself sat. She reached between the bars for the plumber, even though he was much too far away to grab. 

"You invade my castle again!?" Bowser screamed in a rage, slamming his fist on the arm of his throne chair. "You can't stop fate! Peach and I will get married and we will have lots of children!"

"But what about me?" Bowser Jr. whined. "Ain't I a good enough son?"

"Be quiet!" Bowser hissed.

Mario smirked. "You use the same old-a tricks, Bowser! It's about time you get new guards that don't-a scream and run away everytime I come here." Bowser growled. Mario was pleased by his reaction and made the first move, tossing a fireball from his gloved hand directly towards the throne. Troopa, Bowser's assistant, let out a shrill scream and dived behind the throne with Bowser Jr.

Bowser retreated into his shell and slid towards Mario. He plowed through the fireball unscathed, but emerged confused when he never hit the plumber.

"Sir, watch out!" Troopa called from behind the throne. Mario fell out of the air and bounced on Bowser's head, using it as leverage to reach Peach's cage. Landing on top of Peach's prison, he melted the chain holding it in the air with another fireball. They both came crashing down, dust flying everywhere. When the cloud cleared, Mario was holding Peach in his arms, bridal style.

"So long, King Bowser!" Mario called, dashing towards the nearest window.

"It's about time!" Peach complained, hitting the back of Mario's head as he leapt out of the castle.

"But Peach, I beat-a him in record time!" Mario's voice trailed from the window.

"AAAARRGH!!" Bowser yelled, stomping in frustration. Troopa and Bowser Jr. retained their positions behind the throne, staying out of the way of the king's tantrum. "I hate you, Mario! I. HATE. YOU!"

The door to Bowser's throne was blown off it's hinges. "You're doing a fine job of displaying your hatred," Ken said, striding into the room.

Bowser's bloodshot eyes bore into the intruder, and the trio that accompanied him. "Who the hell do you think you are walking into MY castle!?"

"Give me the Flame Orb. I know you have it," Ken demanded, holding James tightly in one arm.

Bowser's face turned to shock, morphed into confusion, and finally ended with one of confidence. "Flame Orb? I've never heard of it."

"I see why Mario defeats you everytime. You aren't very bright." Bowser's smirk disappeared and he gritted his teeth. Ken chuckled.

"You can't talk to my dad that way!" Bowser Jr. exclaimed from behind the throne.

"Silence, you useless miniature clone!" Ken commanded.

"Shut up!" Bowser roared. "You can't talk to my son that way!"

"Tell him, dad!" Bowser Jr. rooted with a fist in the air.

"Be quiet!" Bowser hissed once again, shushing his son.

Ken was starting to become bored with the situation and sent the conversation back on it's original course. "Give me the orb and you may be spared...for now."

Bowser blinked before keeling over and guffawing madly. "You? Puny man, you come into my castle and threaten me? Are you going to beat me with your little briefcase?" Bowser continued to laugh.

"That can be arranged," Ken replied, turning around to hand James off to Derrick. Only Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia were behind him. "Salvas...? Derrick?" Ken looked around with discontent. "Where is that boy? He's been disappearing frequently ever since I brought him into this universe."

"Backing down, are we?" Bowser quipped with a satisfied smirk.

"On the contrary, my assistant isn't here to care for the child so you'll just have to deal with them," Ken responded, gesturing to the trio behind him. "You may actually live this way."

Bowser had gone back into a laughing fit when Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia stepped forward. He couldn't believe these people were actually challenging him.

"As soon as possible..." Ken muttered to them.

Jack moved first. He used his Meteor Dive attack, leaping high into the air and bringing down his red-hot sword at Bowser's feet. The blast tossed Bowser into the air, where he was met with a shot from the Hand Cannon that sent him soaring across the throne room. Cecilia finished the attack with a Break spell, magically ripping pieces of the floor up and pummeling Bowser with them until he crashed through the castle's walls and plummeted down to the ground below.

Bowser wasn't hurt, nor was he anywhere near death. But the king had been evicted from his own castle.

Again.

"I do believe that's record time, even for Mario," Ken joked. Had his hands not been full, he would have clapped from that quick display.

Bowser's army charged into the throne, too late to help their king. Ken was delighted. Now he had more people to push around and possibly help him find what he needed.

"You," he announced to the assortment of goombas, koopas, and paratroopas. "Your king is defeated, once again. He was weak and incompetent. However, I can offer you what he couldn't. I can indeed get rid of Mario, and you will no longer have to live in constant injury and fear from his raids and battles with the buffoon you had as a king."

The reaction was mixed. The army wanted to be loyal, but Ken had a point about Bowser's blunders. And it wasn't like Bowser was around to refute these claims. He had been kicked out of his castle. Again.

"All I ask is for the Flame Orb."

The commotion amongst the troops became louder. Just when Ken was becoming annoyed with their indecisiveness, two paratroopas entered the room, carrying a pillow between them. Atop the cushion sat a crystal ball with a fire burning brilliantly inside of it.

Ken beamed brightly at the sight. He could hardly contain himself and began to laugh triumphantly. "Jack, take the Flame Orb and guard it with your life!" he spoke excitedly. "Troops," he continued, now addressing the army. "As your new leader, my first orders are to...follow me! We will be rid of Mario soon enough!"

The army all began to cheer, their old king a memory forgotten so quickly.

"Derrick better get here soon if he doesn't want to get left behind," Ken mumbled before he heard something stir behind the throne. He approached slowly, only to find Troopa and Bowser Jr. still hiding behind it. His face contorted in disgust. "Leave, before I have you annihilated!"

They quickly obliged, stumbling over each other before diving out of the hole in the wall that Bowser had left. They landed to find Bowser sprawled along the ground.

"Dad!" his son cried, shaking him. "That man took your army!"

Bowser shot up.

"Sir!?" Troopa uttered, startled.

"They caught me by surprise..." Bowser grumbled, rubbing his head. "He breaks into my castle, kicks me out, takes my army...and I bet he got the Flame Orb too?" Troopa nodded grimly. "Bah! This calls for the ultimate act of revenge!!" Bowser boomed with both fists balled and raised high into the air.

"Maybe I can help you with that," a voice said. Derrick Salvas approached them.

* * *

"I don't get it!" Captain Falcon whined from his seat on the ground. "A Sony employee is causing trouble here so his solution is to...send MORE of them here!?" 

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with you," Yoshi admitted, flinching as if the act brought him physical pain. "The thought is just...insane!"

"I don't like this any more more than anybody else," Samus interjected. "But I think we should have just a little bit of faith in this situation."

"I hate to think we have to rely on more Sony people just to save our son," Fox responded glumly. He held Iris in his arms, attempting to calm her with his touch. "But...it's a risk I'm willing to take if it means getting James back."

"Yes," Zelda added weakly. "We'll have to settle our differences and suppress our suspicions...for a greater cause." The princess was usually one to look on the brighter side, but even this situation had her down.

The galloping of hooves echoed and a white horse entered the construction site. The horse slowed to a trot and stopped feet away. A young man with fiery red hair was perched atop his loyal partner.

"Hey guys," he said with a wave.

There were several exclamations of, "Roy!"

Roy scanned the area before leaping off of the horse. "Looks like I missed some action!" He grinned when he saw Princess Zelda and stepped over to her immediately.

"Hello, princess," he said, bowing before her.

"Oh, Roy..." Zelda uttered, slightly shocked. Roy's grin grew at Zelda's response. "Isn't Marth with you?" she asked.

His grin quickly turned into a frown.

"I dunno where Marth is. We live in different kingdoms so it's not like we're always together or something."

Samus finally stepped in. "Roy, there's someone you should meet."

The redhead turned around and made eye contact with the new young man in his presence. The first thing he noticed was the sword hanging next to his baggy red pants.

"This is Claude," Samus said.

"Claude? You're a swordsman, eh?" Roy looked on with slight interest.

"Uh, not really..." Claude managed to say, still taking in the sight of Roy in person. He was glad that the Smash Brothers were showing up almost sporadically throughout his visit. He wasn't sure if he could handle meeting them all at once.

"So what are you exactly?"

Claude was snapped out of his daze. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Well, everyone here has a title or job of some sort," Roy said casually, making a gesture with his hand. "For example, me? I'm the Best Swordsman in all of Nintendo! Zelda is the Princess of Hyrule. Link is the Hero of Time. Samus is a famous Space Hunter. Fox is the leader of 'Star Fox,' if you like wacky mercenary teams."

"'Wacky'?" Fox responded, irritated. "Star Fox isn't 'wacky'!"

"Suuuure," Roy uttered in a sarcastic tone. "Because talking animals flying ships through outer space is like, totally sane."

"Look, I don't have the patience to deal with you right now," Fox growled.

"Sheesh!" Roy sighed with a shrug. "Sor-ry!" He brought his attention back to Claude. "Well, where are you from?"

"Earth."

Roy's jaw dropped. "No way!"

"It's true," Captain Falcon said excitedly. "I saw him come here myself!"

"You don't say..." Roy looked Claude over with newfound interest. "Well, you still need a title. How about...Claude, Warrior of Earth!"

Claude shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so."

"Yeah, I didn't like that one either," Roy admitted. "Well, how did you get here?"

"I used a special machine. It was the prize for winnin' a writin' contest."

"Well then, how about Claude the Writer? It doesn't exactly strike terror into the hearts of your opponents but it's a truthful title, and your writing got you this far."

Claude thought it over and smiled. "What about Claude the Author instead?"

"Works for me, man," Roy replied. He unsheathed the Sword of Seals and pointed it towards Claude. "I hereby deem you...Claude the Author!" The sword glimmered in the light cast down upon the construction site, as if agreeing with its wielder. Putting the sword away, he scanned the area once again. "Why is everyone looking so down? And sitting around here? Were you guys waiting for me?"

"Partly," Samus said. "Fox and Iris's son was kidnapped, and now we're waiting for some Sony people to show up. They're supposedly going to help us catch the perpetrators."

"Oh, geez Fox. I didn't know," Roy apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "But more Sony people? That's insane."

"That's what I said!" Yoshi exclaimed.

A happy tune played and everyone looked around to find its origins.

"That's me...?" Claude realized, pulling the blue phone out of his pocket and answering the call.

"Hello," Miyamoto said through speakerphone. "I've found their location. They're in the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser's Castle, to be exact."

"Let's go!" Fox said, still holding Iris.

"Wait, what about those Sony guys?" Claude asked.

"They should be arriving any minute," Miyamoto replied.

On cue, the air rippled as time and space itself was torn apart, opening a portal that led to another universe. Two figures stepped out, nothing more than silhouettes from the light of the wormhole.

There were looks of shock, looks of disgust, and looks of amusement. Standing before them were Ratchet and Clank.

* * *

Yes, Bowser got owned. Yes, he WILL get revenge, eventually...and if I keep featuring anymore video game characters, I'm going to have to make another disclaimer. 


	17. Chapter 17: Tension Rising

With all of these new characters popping up, I think it's time once again to present the...

**Disclaimer:** Super Smash Bros. and all Nintendo related properties belong to Nintendo. Wild Arms and its characters are the property of Media.Vision, and Ratchet & Clank belong to Insomniac Games. I own myself (I think) and all original characters in the story (so ask before you use). All other real people are purely fictional accounts.

* * *

**Chapter 17:** _Tension Rising_

"Well, how 'bout it?" Claude said, amused. "I wasn't expectin' _that._"

There was a long silence between both parties as they entered into a staring contest. Tension exuded silently but was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"This was a terrible idea," Roy mumbled.

"I agree," Ratchet concurred, narrowing his eyes.

"Now, wait a minute," Zelda said, stepping between both groups. "We all have the same goal: to stop Ken Watanabe."

"That's who's behind this whole mess?" Roy inquired, scratching his head. "The guy that's in the credits for every game ever made?"

"Not the same guy," Claude informed him with a whisper. Roy frowned.

"Would have been cooler if he was."

"This situation is obviously a little stressful for us all," Zelda continued, ignoring Roy. "Ken is trying to ruin our world. And his actions are reflecting badly upon Sony if he's acting on his own accord."

"'If?'" Ratchet repeated irately. "What do you mean by 'if'?"

"She means exactly what she said!" Yoshi yelled, pointing towards Ratchet and Clank. "Your friends already did some damage here. We can't trust you!" Roy and Link nodded in agreement, for once.

"**But**," Zelda said sternly, silencing Yoshi before Ratchet could reply. "If we want to remedy the situation, we're going to have to come to some sort of agreement, or alliance, however temporary it is."

There was another long silence. Ratchet mulled over the thought long and carefully. For all he was concerned, he could subdue Ken Watanabe with just Clank. At least, that's how he felt.

"I think we should take the princess's advice, Ratchet," the little robot next to him said. That was all the push Ratchet needed.

"Alright," Ratchet muttered. "But this alliance is over when we're finished!"

"Fine by me," Roy replied, folding his arms.

"aHAhahahahaha!!!" the harpies screamed. Samus's arm cannon pulsated just as a gun began to form in Ratchet's hand. They fired simultaneous, hitting a single harpy with a missile and stream of flames. The remaining sisters shrieked in fear, grabbing the charred body of their sibling with their talons and taking off into the night sky.

"Hahaha...haHAHAHA!!!" they continued their nervous laughter in the distance.

"Well...maybe this won't be so bad after all," Samus thought aloud with a wry grin. She tapped a concealed panel on her arm cannon. "I'm calling my ship to take us to the Great Fox," she notified everyone.

Once her gunship arrived and all had boarded, it shot out over the skies of Corneria City and towards the Great Fox. As the ship disappeared in the distance, a few sandbags toppled over and a muffled voice yelled, "I'm still here!"

They left Niko behind.

* * *

"You talk to them," Captain Falcon whispered. 

"No, _you_ talk to them," Roy said quickly, casting a glance across the room.

The Command Deck of the Great Fox had been the gathering place. While Fox went to work with his crew piloting the ship to the Mushroom Kingdom after giving them a brief overview of what happened back on Corneria, everyone else had placed themselves in the back of the room, and separated into two distinct groups: Ratchet and Clank on one side...and everybody else on the other.

"This is childish," Samus muttered. "Why don't you both go talk to them."

"Are you kidding?" Captain Falcon asked nervously. "Samus, they hate us!"

"And it's not an alliance if both parties aren't communicating," Roy added on.

"Personally," Yoshi said, butting his way into the conversation. "I say we nominate Claude to talk to them."

"Wait, what?" Claude blurted out in surprise. "Why me?"

"You have a Playstation!" Yoshi said, as if that solved everything. "Maybe you can get in good with them. Though I know you'd **never** play one of their games, you could lie and say that you did."

"But I _did_ play a Ratchet and Clank game before."

"Yeah, say it just like that!" Yoshi told Claude, pushing him forward. "That sounded pretty convincing."

"Go, Claude!" Falcon cheered.

Claude had no choice. He was pushed into the situation, literally, and continued forward. Ratchet was leaning against a wall with an annoyed expression while Clank's bright mechanical eyes were focused intensely on the new person in their presence.

"...what do you want?" Ratchet mumbled.

"Uh..." Claude never knew how to approach characters he formerly thought were fictional, but tried anyway. "I know it's been pretty crazy since you two got here, but I was just goin' to let you know that I don't hate you."

A look of amusement flashed across Ratchet's face. "And why not? Everybody else from here does."

"Yeah, but...I'm not from here. I'm from Earth."

Ratchet went into shock and realization. "Oh, so you're the one they're-"

Clank nudged him in the shin quickly, silencing Ratchet.

Claude gave a suspicious glance between the two. "So 'I'm the one they're' what?"

"It's nothing," Ratchet dismissed with the wave of a gloved hand. "Nevermind."

_'Well that was eventful,'_ Claude thought to himself.

Yoshi leaned over. "Psst! Claude, tell him that you have a Playstation!" he whispered.

Ratchet rolled his eyes before saying, "I can hear you, you know." He pointed to his striped ears.

Roy snorted in response. "So what are you anyway? Some kind of tiger?"

"No, he's a lion!" Captain Falcon protested, pointing at Ratchet's tail. "Can't you tell?"

"Maybe he's both," Yoshi concluded with a shrug.

"I'm a lombax A _lombax_," Ratchet pronounced through gritted teeth.

"That might help if I knew what a lombax was," Yoshi replied. He grinned at Ratchet's lack of amusement.

Samus fiddled with her Scan Visor. "I've been throughout the galaxy and I've never heard of a lombax," she added.

"Well, we do live in different universes," Clank said. "I've yet to encounter a metroid in ours."

"Hmm," Samus hummed with curiosity. "Tell me more about your universe."

Well, that did it. That got them talking. And with that mission accomplished, Claude looked to attend to something else that had been on his mind: Kirby. The little puffball hadn't said anything since everyone got back to the Great Fox, and left the room a few minutes ago.

Claude left and wandered the halls of the Great Fox, trying to remember Iris's tour from earlier that day. His memory wasn't helping him much, but luckily he stumbled across the lobby where the Star Fox team members usually hang out. Sitting on a couch, alone, was Kirby.

"Hey," Claude greeted quietly, sitting next to him. "What's wrong with you?"

Kirby sighed. "I feel bad. That Ken man kidnapped James."

Claude leaned back and kicked his legs up onto the small table in front of them. "Yeah, well, we're goin' to get him back," he said confidently.

Kirby didn't seem to be sharing the mood and looked down to the floor. "I know, but...what do you think they're going to do when they catch him?"

"Who, Ken? Whatever it is, it ain't gonna be pretty."

There was a short silence between them until Kirby started up again. "Is it...bad, that I feel this way about the enemy?"

Claude sat up. "No, I don't think so," he replied solemnly. "Not everybody's got compassion for their enemies. You kinda complete the group that way. And when we do stop Ken Watanabe, you can be the voice of reason."

The was a quiet buzzing sound, prompting Claude to reach into his pocket and reveal the blue phone. It was vibrating.

"What's that?" Kirby asked with newfound interest.

"It's a phone Mr. Miyamoto gave me." Claude pressed a button and a text message appeared on the screen, from Shigeru Miyamoto himself.

'When you find them, call me,' it read. 'I know how to free them.'

Them? Did he mean Jack, Rudy and Cecilia?

Claude smiled. He wasn't too concerned about what would happen to Ken. He just wanted the Wild Arms trio to walk away with their lives, especially after he found out that they were being used by Ken. Now there was hope.

* * *

"Derrick! Where have you been?" 

Derrick grimaced. "_Salvas,_" he stated clearly, walking through the army in the throne room.

"You missed the battle," Ken said, gesturing towards the hole in the wall. "If you had shown up any later, we would have been forced to leave you behind."

"So that's it?" Derrick inquired, pointing to the orb in Jack's hands. "That's what's going to get us through the Gateway?"

"Not necessarily through," Ken corrected. "But it will get the job done." His lips curled into a crazed smile. "To think, in a matter of minutes, our mission shall be complete!" James saw the look on Ken's face and began to bawl. "Ugh, Salvas...take care of the child."

Ken quickly handed James over to Derrick. He then stepped in front of the army that was formerly Bowser's, preparing to give them his first orders. "To the valley of lava!" Ken bellowed. "There lies the secret to destroying Mario!"

The army cheered and charged out of the castle.

"Well?" Ken said. "Let's follow them!"

Bowser's Keep was soon emptied.

* * *

The Great Fox had entered the Mushroom Kingdom and the area near Bowser's Keep. The black sky was ominous, and there wasn't much to the landscape beyond fire and rocks. Mario and Peach had been spotted fleeing the area, but they quickly turned around upon witnessing the ship in the sky. 

Because the terrain was so rough, there were few places for the Great Fox to land, and the region it landed in wasn't very close to the destination. Everyone had left the ship and prepared for battle, signifying the significance of the upcoming battle. Well, mostly everyone left, save for Fox's crew. Someone had to man the ship, after all.

Mario and Peach had finally caught up with them. Claude stood near the back, not sure how to approach them, while everyone filled them in on the detail. When Claude received a curious glance from Mario, he figured it was because they had told him about his Earth origins, though Ratchet and Clank were on the receiving end of Mario's disapproving looks.

"Hey, guys!" Roy called, standing a considerable distance away from them. He was atop a rocky slope and pointing onwards. Everyone went over to see what he was talking about.

"He's got an army," Roy continued, watching Ken Watanabe intently as he marched behind the goombas, koopas, and paratroopas quite a ways away from where they were standing. "Looks kind of like Bowser's army. Where do you think he's going?"

"Mario, what's up ahead?" Zelda asked the plumber.

Mario fiddled with his mustache. "I believe it-a is Lava Valley! Nothing good-a there but-a lots of rocks and lava!"

"What could they be going there for?" Kirby wondered aloud.

"Is there anything special about that place that you can think of?" Samus asked. "At all?"

Mario started to play with his mustache again, thinking. After a few seconds, he shook his head in disappointment, until Peach slapped him in the back with enough force that his cap almost fell off.

"Mario!" She whined. He winced at her tone. "The _Gateway!_" She finally said, though he didn't seem to be anymore enlightened with this information. Samus, however, quickly snapped her head in Peach's direction.

"Gateway?" Yoshi repeated. "What are you talking about?"

Peach sighed and gave a look that showed her dissatisfaction with the situation. She really didn't feel like elaborating, but did anyway.

"The Gateway of Flames is in the Lava Valley," she explained lazily. "If they want to destroy the world, that's their best ticket to doing it."

Samus snapped her metal fingers in revelation. "I knew it!" She shouted. "So there is a Gateway here! That's why he needed the locater!"

Everyone else was pretty much confused, so Samus took over with the explanations since she was sure Peach didn't want to. "There are elemental Gateways spread throughout our universe. One for each of the eight elements. The Gateways lead to The Core of our world. If Ken destroys it...the universe will collapse on itself and everything will be annihilated."

"Whoa, hey!" Yoshi protested, throwing his arms up. "Why didn't I know anything about these gateways or this core!?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Roy said, agreeing.

"Well...no one's really supposed to know about it." Samus smirked before saying, "But being the skilled bounty hunter that I am, I learn about all kinds of things I'm not supposed to know."

"The secret of the gateways' been in the royal family for generations," Peach added on.

"Well, if we know all of this, what are we waiting for?" Roy asked.

"Perhaps you were waiting for me?" Another voice said. Everyone turned around to the man on the horse.

"Marth!" Zelda exclaimed.

"What took you so long?" Yoshi complained.

Marth chuckled as he climbed off of the horse. "I was on my way to Corneria when I received this strange device," he revealed a sleek blue phone similar to Claude's. "The voice on it told me to come to this area instead." He glanced around, taking in every member of the group. "...am I too late?"

"You're just in time," Zelda said. "Let's go before we lose our chance!"

Marth grabbed his horse's reigns and followed everyone, as they moved at a fast pace towards Lava Valley. Eventually they stood near the edge of a small cliff, overlooking Lava Valley below them. Ken had just entered along with the army, and was in clear view.

Each member of the team, native to Nintendo or not, spread out in a line along the edge, preparing for battle. Weapons were brandished and emotions were fortified.

"This is it," Samus said. "This may be the battle to determine if we live or die. If our world continues or if we fade into the memories of Earth. Not all of us are the best of friends, and not all of us have any ties to this universe. But I'm expecting each one of you to fight with all you've got. We can't afford to do any less, alright?"

There were several nods and voices of agreement.

"With that settled, we strike...NOW!!!" Samus cried, pointing her arm cannon towards the enemy, who was rapidly closing in on his destination. Battle cries erupted and everyone leapt from the cliff to the valley below.

The war had begun.

* * *

_I don't want to estimate exactly how many chapters are left (because I'll probably be wrong), but I said it before that we're past the halfway point. At the most I'm going to say that the story may end somewhere near chapter 24-27 to give you all an idea of how much is left, but it definitely won't go past 30. I should have a better idea by the next few chapters, since the turning point isn't too far away._


	18. Chapter 18: It Begins

**Chapter 18: **_It Begins..._

"It's around here, Salvas," Ken assured Derrick. "We'll see it soon."

Derrick held James with one arm and wiped the sweat from his brow with his free hand. Naturally, Lava Valley was hot! "It's steaming here," Derrick complained, wincing as a geyser blew steam and flames into the air. "I would have brought water if I had known. And it's not so great here for the kid either," he said, looking down at James.

Ken cracked his briefcase open and pulled out an icy cold bottle of water, handing it to Derrick with a smirk.

"How do you...?" Derrick wondered, but was just pleased with the water and decided not to pry any further.

"Not much farther now," Ken announced, noticing that the army was becoming weary from the heat. Jack, Rudy, and Cecilia didn't look like they were bothered by the conditions. Not that they had a choice.

The army suddenly stopped and Ken skipped to the front of their ranks, giggling madly as he saw what they were looking at. "This is it!" He sang happily. "This is it! Tee hee!"

They stood before a large hole in a mountainous wall, engulfed in endless spiraling flames. The hole was lined with glowing, cryptic red runes. Derrick attempted to peer down the center from his position, but he could see no end to the flames. The pit looked as if it could lead to Hell itself.

Derrick gulped with a look of concern on his face, which made James giggle. "Are we actually going in there...?"

"Well, this is the Gateway of Flames!" Ken boomed, throwing his arms up in joy as if presenting the scene to onlookers. He turned and saw Derrick's face. "Don't worry about the flames. That's what the orb is for!"

"Yaaaaahhh!!!"

A multitude of fighters, led by Samus Aran, were charging through the valley and directly towards them. The smile never left Ken's face.

"It's about time they got here," he said, gaining an incredulous stare from Derrick. "I was worried that this might be too easy!" He was right within Samus's range.

"ATTACK!" She and Ken screamed simultaneously. She opened fire, as did several of her comrades, while the paratroopas stormed the sky in a swarm in retaliation.

The goombas and koopas were proving to be just as feeble as their game representations, as they were individually weak. The real problem was that there were so many of them, and the mass of flying paratroopas weren't helping.

Ken watched the battle from his position near the Gateway of Flames. The chaos had yet to reach him. Derrick had backed off anyway, holding James in his arms. He didn't like the thought of getting hit by stray projectiles, and knew that once the army had been cut down, they'd go straight for Ken.

"Jack, remember what I said," Ken stated, pointing to the orb in his arms. "Rudy, Cecilia. Stand by...you'll enter the fray soon enough!" he said.

Marth hacked away at his opponents, sitting atop his galloping horse. Goombas and troopas unfortunate enough to get in his direct path were trampled underneath hooves, and those that weren't soon met his Falchion blade. "Why do you take orders from this man?" He asked, but got no answer and continued the battle.

Claude shot a few lasers into goombas, but soon found himself encircled in flying paratroopas. He let off a few more shots, finding it ineffective when they were moving so fast at such a close range, and traded the Phase Gun for his sword, the aptly named "Claude Blade," and began slashing at his attackers. When he cut a few of them out of the sky, they began to back off, and he finally noticed Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia with Ken near the Gateway of Flames.

His memory was finally jogged, and he backed off into a corner where none of the fighting was taking place. Whipping out the blue phone, he fumbled around with it until he managed to call back the last person that had contacted him on it: Miyamoto. The phone rang, and the person in question quickly answered.

"Claude?"

"It's happenin'! The fight started!" He yelled over the chaos. "You said you could free them?"

"Ah, yes!" Miyamoto replied, also competing with the volume of the war. "Help is on the way right now!" Without elaborating, Miyamoto disconnected, leaving Claude in the dark. With that out of the way, he jumped back into the battle with his sword in both hands and began slashing away at the opposition again.

Suddenly, Iris opened fire with the gatling gun, cutting a swath through the ranks of the army. The stragglers were taken care of by Fox, who closed in and effortlessly took them out with hand to hand combat. Iris caught up to Fox and unleashed a wave of gunfire again, repeating the process. Claude noted how effective it was, and finally realized what they were doing: cutting a straight line through the army and directly to Ken, to rescue James no doubt.

He followed in the path that they had made, but goombas were beginning to close in quickly. Bombs fell out of the sky and blew them away, making the path slightly clearer for Claude again. Glancing into the sky, he saw Ratchet hovering above with Clank strapped to his back. Propellers were sticking out of the little robot to keep them afloat. He gave a silent nod of thanks and ran before the gap could close again.

Claude hit one last obstacle, which was a wall formed of paratroopas. Spotting the enemy, they immediately barreled towards him. Keeping explosives in mind, he brandished the Phase Gun and set it to Level 2 for the first time. Pulling the trigger, the gun shot a small light blue sphere of energy that was almost impossible to see in the battle. The paratroopas had seen it, but didn't think much about it.

They fell for it.

As soon as the paratroopas were in range, the small sphere erupted into an explosion of light, ripping through their ranks and sending them flying in all directions. Claude made his way through the clearing only to find that Fox and Iris had already arrived at their destination. Stopping behind them, he noticed their weapons trained on Ken, while Rudy and Cecilia were similarly aiming for them. Ken himself wore an ecstatic expression. He was enjoying every minute of the war.

"You bastard," Fox growled. "Why would you kidnap our son!?"

"Oh, Fox," Ken replied casually. "You should sound a lot more grateful than that."

"You should be grateful that I haven't rammed my foot down your throat yet!" Fox replied in a fury. Iris kept one arm latched onto him, preventing him from charging Ken. With Rudy and Cecilia standing watch, he'd never make it.

"Oh my!" Ken replied in a sarcastic tone of fright. "I have plans for this child to be the sole survivor of this universe. I will take him back to Earth with me once this place ceases to exist, and I'll raise him as my own." Fox was fuming with anger now. Ken continued with delight, "I'll tell him about the world he came from, and of course his negligent parents. And he will grow up to hate you and everything you stand for."

"...why?" Claude asked. He couldn't help himself. "You never said anything about that before."

Ken seemed to noticed him for the first time. "Well Claude, I took pity on the child. After all, he didn't choose who he was, and has no control over his destiny...at the moment." Ken began to chuckle and Fox was only seconds away from pouncing on him and tearing the man to pieces until Ken became wide eyed and nearly choked on his own saliva at the new characters within his presence.

Ratchet slowly landed in front of Fox and Iris. Clank detached himself from is back, and both were immediately met with one of Ken's rare glares of anger and hate.

"What are **you** doing here!?" He nearly screamed.

"We should be asking the same question," Clank responded, waving a metal hand.

"You see..." Ratchet began, "I was minding my own business, trying to relax, when I got a request...no, an order. Do you know what it was? It was an order to come _here_," Ratchet strained his last word, clearly displaying that he wasn't enjoying his visit to the Nintendoverse. "And for what? To take care of some crazy employee who was supposed to be on paid vacation. That employee decided to be a one man army and attack an entire universe on his own, and now I'm dragged into his mess." A gun formed in one of Ratchet's hands. It was the Pyrocitor. "And I'm not very happy about that."

Clank glanced at the Pyrocitor. "Ratchet, is that really necessary?"

"Relax," Ratchet responded, waving the gun around casually. "I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Ken chuckled at Ratchet's story and regained his composure. It was unsettling, but Clank attempted to reason with the man anyway. "Ken Watanabe, your actions are giving us all a bad name. It would be best if you-"

A stream of fire flew over the little robot and whipped itself over to Rudy and Cecilia, who rolled out of the way. Ratchet then turned his aim on Ken, who raised the briefcase in defense. The briefcase was absorbing the flames, and after a few seconds, Ratchet let up. The Pyrocitor was completely ineffective.

"I've never seen a briefcase that could do that before," he commented.

"It can do a lot more!" Ken responded giddily. "Do you want to see?" He reached down to open the briefcase, preparing to retaliate with another volley of missiles, which was proving to be his favorite attack. Before he had the chance, the sky rippled and a bright pillar of light shot down behind him. The display had even caught the interest of those still fighting.

Standing behind Ken was Shigeru Miyamoto. He quickly scanned the area before raising a hand and snapping his fingers. A white aura extended from his body, engulfing Ken, Rudy, Jack, and Cecilia. Eventually the aura disappeared, and Ken gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure why Miyamoto was in his presence, but he knew it wasn't good. An unforeseen setback.

"What did you do?" Ken said, demanding an answer from Miyamoto.

"I used a program to disable your abilities. You can no longer travel planes." He smiled innocently. There was slight groaning from Rudy, Jack, and Ceclia. "Oh yes, did I forget to mention that I also freed them of your mind control?"

Ken gritted his teeth again and dived towards Jack, grabbing the Flame Orb just as it rolled out of his grasp. He backed off as the trio started to come to their senses.

"What...happened?" Cecilia whispered, staring at her hands in disbelief.

"I remember exactly what happened," Jack muttered angrily. "I hate when others try to control me, especially when it's to do their own dirty deeds!" He glanced over to Derrick just as Hanpan, the blue mouse, climbed onto his shoulder. "Ready?" he said to the mouse.

"What am I, a weapon?" He replied snarkily.

"You are today!" Jack exclaimed, holding out his palm for the mouse. Hanpan scampered onto it before turning into a glowing ball of white light. Jack tossed the ball into the air before batting it with the hilt of his sword. It launched forward with unbridled speed, careening into Derrick's stomach with enough force to knock him off his feet – which sent James flying through the air.

Iris screamed. If James hit the ground from that height...or worse, fell into one of the flaming geysers, it would all be over. The baby flew through the air in slow motion, giggling from the sudden flight and oblivious to the danger he was in. It felt like hours until James collapsed...right into the arms of Claude, who had jumped higher into the air than he ever had before.

When he landed, he looked down at the baby in his arms with disbelief. "Did I do that...?"

He was nearly smothered to death by Fox and Iris as they snatched James into their care. Iris muttered incoherent phrases of thanks between kisses to the child's forehead. The McCloud family had been reunited at last. At least, for the moment.

Fox took James and held him his arms one last time. Iris read the expression on his face, but he spoke before she could protest.

"Iris, take James and go back to the Great Fox!"

"But what about you!?" She choked as he gently pushed James into her arms.

"I'm going to make sure this man can never threaten our family again."

"But Fox! ...Fox?" His eyes were distant; he had already made up his mind. "Fox!!"

Samus gently touched Iris. "I'll look after him," she said assuringly. "But you'd do best to look after James."

Iris looked back one last time before scurrying out of Lava Valley. Needless to say, Ken was pissed at the loss of James, but still attempted to project a calm and collected facade. Samus suddenly opened fire on him but the briefcase thwarted all attacks just as before.

"Sir," Samus said to Miyamoto between shots. "It's dangerous here. I think you should go back!"

Miyamoto nodded and stepped over to Claude. "Maybe you should come with me, Claude. Samus is right about the danger. They should be able to handle this on their own."

Claude gave him a look of pure disbelief. "What!? No, you can't pull me out now! Not when things were just gettin' started!"

"So you really want to stay and fight?" Miyamoto asked, giving one of his rare solemn expressions. Claude gave his answer with a nod. "I see. Then I'll be going back to Earth now." He stepped over to Ratchet and Clank and gave them a warm smile.

"I'm sorry you had to come here under these circumstances and I thank you for assisting us in this time of need." The traces of the unending scowl that Ratchet wore since arriving in the Nintendoverse nearly vanished. "I wish your stay here could be more pleasant. Perhaps in the future..."

Miyamoto stepped back and whispered the exit command. He was engulfed in a pillar of light and data that shot him into the skies and across dimensions. Ken began to cackle madly.

"It looks like your fearless leader left you!" He sang happily.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves," Samus mumbled, preparing another assault.

"Let me try somethin'," Claude said stepping ahead of her with the Phase Gun. It was still set to Level 2. Aiming carefully, he pulled the trigger and released another sphere.

Ken wasn't stupid; he prepared the briefcase in defense. The sphere exploded on contact, but the blast was quickly absorbed. Ken's powers may have been removed, but it hadn't affected any of his personal items.

Samus prepared her arm cannon again. "Maybe if we all strike at once..."

"Wait," Claude said. "One more time..."

This time, he turned the power dial to the third and most powerful level. It was the blast he was originally going to unleash in the ruined yoshi village. _'If this doesn't work, nothing will,'_ he thought.

He pulled the trigger and the gun whined in response. Light emanated from the Phase Gun, and in a flash it had released a fierce beam. Ken dodged from the size of the blast, leaving the briefcase airborne to take the brunt of the attack. It was engulfed in the beam of light but showed no signs of breakage. After what felt like minutes, the beam died out and the briefcase clattered to the ground, smoking.

"I can't believe that didn't work!" Fox complained.

Samus gestured towards the briefcase again. "Actually, I think it did."

Cracks formed on the briefcase. Ken was horrified. He turned with the Flame Orb tucked under his arm and ran towards the Gateway as fast as he could, which everyone had mistaken for defeat. Ken wasn't frightened by the destruction of the briefcase, but rather what its destruction would lead to.

The cracks in the briefcase gave way to light until it finally imploded, opening a tear in the fabric of space/time. The tear appeared as a rotating light blue sphere, distorting the appearance of everything nearby. And its pull was relentless, with a vacuum strong enough to knock everyone within the vicinity off their feet and towards the tear.

"What the HELL is that!?" Fox screamed over the deafening roar of the tear.

"A tear!" Samus attempted to reply, digging her metallic fingers into the hard ground to resist the pull. "Don't get pulled into it!"

Her warning was too late. Rudy and Cecilia, who were still recovering and attempting to come to terms with what had been happening the past day or so, were the first to fall victim to the tear. They were snatched into its grasp in seconds. Jack dug is sword into the earth but the pull only got stronger with time. He knew something would give way soon enough.

Fox slid by Samus and grabbed onto her. His blaster slipped from his grip and fell into the void along with Iris's abandoned gatling gun.

Claude grabbed onto the mouth of one of Lava Valley's many geysers. Clank's metal body bounced by but there was nothing he could do. He was relieved when Ratchet dived after Clank and caught him, but it was too late for him to save them both and they plummeted into the tear. The unknown abyss threatened to swallow the rest of them, but Claude had a pretty good grip on the geyser and felt he could hold out long enough for them to figure out a way to close it.

That was, until the geyser erupted.

At first, he thought the tear had increased in strength and started a quake. Then he felt the heat against his hands, burning them. He let go just as fire shot into the dark skies and slid at blistering speeds across the ground until a blue chain latched onto him. Samus saved him with the Grapple Beam, but the extra weight of Fox and Claude betrayed her iron grip, and she lost it.

A silver streak passed Samus and she grabbed the chain. Link retracted the hookshot and his feet were clad in iron. The process was slow but the tool was proving to be strong enough to pull them in...before the tear grew in size, letting off a shockwave that pushed them away before pulling them in with twice the strength. Even Link didn't stand a chance with his Iron Boots, and lurched forward screaming with the rest of them.

As the tear drew them in, Claude's only reflex was to close his eyes on impact.

* * *

_I've plotted out all the rest of the chapters and have actually started writing a few of them already. So, unless I change anything, there are approximately 9 chapters left and a conclusion._


	19. Chapter 19: Secrets of the Briefcase

A short chapter...but that just means that things are getting down to the wire. ;)

* * *

**Chapter 19:**_ Secrets of the Briefcase_

It felt like being thrown several feet down into a pool, face first. But instead of the freedom of water, they were greeted with the weightlessness of the tear, which turned out to be a limbo of sorts. With no control over their direction, they were left rotating around a bright sphere that marked the center.

"Welcome to the party," Ratchet grumbled, floating about aimlessly.

"Where the hell are we?" Fox questioned. His voice reverberated oddly, bouncing through the shimmering blue limbo at different pitches before returning as if a double were repeating his words to his face.

"I should have realized this before," Samus said, scanning the area. "We're in a pocket dimension. Apparently, Ken's briefcase had the ability to summon objects at his will from this...place. Destroying the briefcase opened a rift to this space."

"How do we get out?" Claude asked, maneuvering his body to avoid a floating missile left over from one of Ken's attacks.

"I'm not sure, but we need to do something soon." Samus moved her body around. She was trying to control her direction, but all she managed to do was flip herself around several times. She sighed and said, "the tear is increasing in size over time. It's probably going to engulf everything in the area soon."

"Speaking of which," Fox muttered as Jack and Hanpan came soaring into the floating prison. They flailed their limbs around only to succumb to the same weightlessness everyone else was trapped in.

"Interesting," Hanpan, the little mouse, said.

"This kinda reminds me of the Emulator Zone," Claude commented. When he got blank stares he mentally slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah, that's Wild Arms 2."

Samus was becoming irritated. She shot a fully charged blast at the sphere in center of the pocket dimension. The altered physics caused the shot to curve and miss the target, though it almost hit Ratchet in the process.

"Hey, watch it!" He cried.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "But I'm trying to destroy the center."

Fox gave her an alarmed look. "Is that a good idea?"

"Do you have a better one?" She replied. "Because of the current situation with the tear, destroying the center should create the opposite effect. We should be pushed out and back into our universe before this one collapses. Theoretically, of course."

Fox grimaced at Samus's last words. "Alright, but I don't have my blaster."

"That's probably for the better. I don't think more than one person should be firing with these physics anyway." Samus positioned her floating body and aimed at the center once more. "Are you all ready? This shot could end up anywhere." There were several nods, and she finally fired.

The blast curved once again, did a full loop, and headed directly to the left, straight for Link. He lifted his shield and the shot was reflected. It did another loop before careening with the sphere, which shook violently on impact. Suddenly their speed increased tenfold. The pocket dimension had been damaged, but not destroyed.

"What happened!?" Cecilia shrieked, holding her hair to the side of her face.

"Not enough power!" Samus responded in the whirling vortex.

"I'm getting sick of this place!" Ratchet declared with a new weapon in his hand. He prepared the Visibomb Gun as best as he could under his condition and fired. The missile was guided into the center by Ratchet, which was a tough feat considering the physics making random turns for the missile, and the whole spinning out of control incident.

On contact, the sphere erupted and its energy blew everyone through the thin walls of its universe. They were violently thrown out of the tear and into Lava Valley once again. Miscellaneous items clattered to the ground next to them, including Fox's blaster, unused missiles, the locater, a bottle of water, and even a piano which landed with a crash. No one was quite sure where that came from, but maybe Ken had a sick sense of humor and planned on throwing it at someone from the briefcase.

Speaking of which, Ken had already taken the opportunity to scamper to the Gateway with Derrick. The tear gave a pathetic sputtered before it disappeared from existence with a poof. Ken's infinite resources had run dry.

"Hey!" Roy called. "Where were you guys!?" He spotted Cecilia on the ground and helped her up with a smile.

"It was a pocket dimension," Samus informed him. "It's where Ken got all of his resources."

"Samus!" Captain Falcon cried, running over to her. "I was so worried. You went in and I wasn't sure what to think, but then you came right out!"

She gave him a puzzled look. "How long were we gone?"

"A couple of seconds," Roy said, his arm tucked under Cecilia's. "There was a huge beam, then that big tear. When I came over to help you guys out, you were already flying out of it." He gave Cecilia a warm smile, and was quickly surrounded by Jack and Rudy.

"Time must move differently in that dimension," Clank concluded. Ratchet nodded.

"What about the war?" Claude asked, scoping the area out.

"What war?" Kirby bounced over to them. "They're all running away!" he announced happily, picking up the discarded locater. "When they realized that Ken never intended on sticking with them, they started to retreat!"

Yoshi encased himself in and egg and rolled into fleeing goombas, knocking the stragglers down like bowling pins. He unfurled with a triumphant laugh.

"Forget the stragglers!!" Samus suddenly barked. "We have to stop Ken before he gets the chance to-"

She was interrupted by an explosion. Ken had tossed the Flame Orb into the center of the flaming tunnel, unsealing the gateway. In an instant, a powerful vacuum blew the flames out and left a rocky, gaping hole. The path to the center of the universe was now safe for travel.

"You're toooo late!" Ken sang. Derrick looked into the gateway and then to Ken with apprehension. Ken rolled his eyes and grabbed Derrick, and leapt into the darkness.

"Damn!" Fox cursed. They ran towards the open gateway and peered down the hole.

"It's-a not too late!" Mario said. "We can still catch-a him!"

"Uh..." Yoshi glanced at the hole with pure dread. "Do we all have to go down there? I mean, can't some of us stay up here in case he comes back or something?"

"No!" Samus replied harshly. "It's now or never!"

"But everybody's not here!" Yoshi whined. "Donkey Kong, Ness, the Ice Climbers...maybe we should get them and come back?"

"Yoshi!" Zelda said in a reprimanding manner. Yoshi shrugged sheepishly.

"Yeah," Roy added on in a similar tone. "I thought you'd want to defend your home!"

"Well _you_ aren't," Samus stated, pointing at the bloody gash on his arm. "That looks pretty bad."

"This?" He said with mild interest. "It's not that bad. I wish someone would have told me that goombas bite! But that's not going to stop me!"

"I still think that you should get a doctor to look at it."

"Did somebody say 'doctor'?" Mario spun around with a white coat haphazardly draped on his body in a hurry. He got several odd glances, but it didn't seem to bother him. "Roy, you sit down and I look at you now," he spoke in a different manner.

"Um, what's wrong with you?" Roy looked around for answers but everyone was just as confused as he was. "Mario, what are you doing!?" He snapped when Dr. Mario grabbed his arm.

"I treat your wound. Doctor's orders!"

"I can use a healing spell," Cecilia said quickly, noticing the panic on Roy's face. Mario was out of control.

"Medicine over magic! Always!" Dr. Mario declared, pointing a pill at the foreign princess.

"But I'm the patient," Roy said, playing along. "And I get to decide!" He snatched his arm away from Dr. Mario. "Princess, if you will..." he said with a bow.

Cecilia carefully raised her staff into the air and cast a healing spell. Golden sparkles showered Roy and converged on his wound, which tingled before numbing. The wound closed and disappeared before his very eyes, and soon the skin had returned to normal. There wasn't even a hint of scarring.

"You're good!" Roy exclaimed, rubbing his arm. Dr. Mario scowled and mumbled something under his breath.

"Then no one's backing out," Samus said sternly. Yoshi cringed. Though he couldn't see it, he knew she was glaring at him from her visor.

"Of course, that means we're coming too," Jack said cooly. "After what that guy did to us, you can't turn us down!"

"He's right," Claude added. "Everybody's got somethin' to settle with Ken." Rudy nodded in agreement. Even if they said no, he'd still go anyway.

Kirby bounced for attention and said, "I don't see why there'd be a problem! It's not like you guys are being controlled anymore!"

Marth climbed off his horse. "Then I would like to personally invite all of our guests to our ranks." He bowed graciously, still holding the horse's reigns.

Samus stood before the gaping hole. "Okay then, if no one has a problem with that, we all head into the gateway. There's no time to lose." She took a deep breath, glanced back to her comrades, and hopped in. They ran over to watch her disappear in the darkness of the tunnel.

Yoshi began to pale at the sight until Link forcefully pushed him in before jumping in himself. They all began to take a leap of faith, literally, until the only one left was Marth's horse, whom awaited faithfully for his master to return.

* * *

_A couple of author's notes before moving on to the next chapter:_

_No, I don't know why that gun Ratchet uses is called the "Visibomb Gun." It just is in the game._

_The reason Rudy doesn't have any lines is because he's a silent protagonist just like Link. He has like 2 lines in the entirety of Wild Arms and even those were removed in the remake. And the reason the characters wouldn't know about the Emulator Zone from Wild Arms 2 is because, like many RPGs, the series gets a new cast with every new game._


	20. Chapter 20: The Core

_Took a little longer for me to get this chapter out, but that was because of E3 + being busy over the weekend. This chapter is short. Maybe the shortest one yet, but that only means the next chapters are going to be longer...longer than the norm, most likely._

* * *

**Chapter 20:** _The Core_

"Yes, yes!" Ken sang happily. "This is it, _this is it!_"

Derrick found himself scoping out the area once again. They had landed into the chamber that contained the Core – the center of the entire Nintendoverse. The chamber was in the shape of a large, rocky sphere. They had fallen out of one of eight gigantic holes gaping into the chamber. Raw energy flowed from each hole, representing one of the eight elements: water, wind, earth, ice, lightning, light, darkness, and fire from the only unsealed gateway. The one they had used.

The elemental energy was diverted to a large blue sphere made of pure essences. The essence of life. The globe of energy pulsated and spun sporadically, and was covered in a thin rectangular shield. This was the goal Ken had been pursuing since he stepped foot into the Nintendoverse.

This was the Core.

"All we have to do...is destroy that," Ken said, pointing to it. "Those Nintendo scum are undoubtedly on our heels. We must work hastily!"

He quickly shuffled across the rocky terrain, which raised up in a slope towards the core. Derrick followed him as he best he could once he hit the slope, trying not to lose his balance on the uneven ground while keeping up a good pace. Eventually they reached the top and a small ridge leading directly to the core.

The core was certainly larger than a human body, but not by too much. How could something so small sustain an entire universe?

Ken analyzed the barrier over the core as best as he could while Derrick looked on. He produced a small gun from within his suit and chuckled at Derrick's shocked expression.

"Break the barrier...and the core is defenseless." The blue light the core cast upon the chamber reflected sinisterly on Ken's glasses. "I was expecting more people to assist us," he said, referring to his lost servants Jack, Rudy and Cecilia. "Destroying the barrier may take longer than I originally anticipated."

He revealed another item from within his suit, this time a small black box with several buttons and dials on it.

"I'm giving you the teleporter in case something goes wrong," Ken informed him, then handed the box over. "Not that I expect it to, but at least one of us needs to be around to finish this."

Derrick slowly nodded. "So...what happens after we do this? I mean, once the Nintendoverse is gone."

"There's been some changes in my plan, but once we complete our goal, things will rapidly sway in our favor," Ken informed him, entirely confident in his words. "You do remember how to use the teleporter?" Derrick nodded again. He had been waiting for Ken to entrust him with the device once more.

"So..." he began, looking towards the core. "How do we break the barrier?"

Ken rolled his eyes and opened fire on the barrier. It flashed briefly from the shot but looked unaffected nonetheless. "Well? It's going to take a lot longer if I'm the only one striking it!"

Derrick pocketed the teleporter and outstretched his arms. The chains on his clothing were revealed to be more than just decoration, unraveling themselves and followed his mental commands, repeatedly striking the barrier like hot metal whips. Ken joined him enthusiastically, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the barrier fell.

* * *

They had fallen for what felt like minutes...maybe hours. The dark cavernous walls of the Gateway of Flames continued to darken until the corridor was entirely pitch black, save for a blue light ahead. As they approached the light, gravity changed and their descent slowed to a crawl. They floated out of the gateway and landed softly on the rocky terrain of the core's chamber. 

Each one took in the magnificent sight of the center of the Nintendoverse, and the core that powered their universe. Samus began scanning the room immediately with her visor.

Claude was the first one to speak. "Shadoink!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Yoshi said, then did a double take. "Wait, Sha-what?"

"Shadoink," Claude repeated. "It's a word I made up a long time ago."

"We should be concentrating less on imaginary words and more on Ken," Samus intervened. "He's already attacking the core, and the shield won't hold them off forever!" She broke into a run, prompting everyone else to follow.

"Damn," Ken cursed under his breath, noting the multitude of characters heading his way. "Derrick, you keep attacking the shield. I think I'll play with them a little bit more before they're eliminated." A crazed grin drew across his face.

"We've got you now!" Ratchet declared, holding a gun of his own.

"You'll see just how well I can fight when I'm not your puppet!" Jack exclaimed.

"Oh, darn!" Ken replied halfheartedly. "Then it's a good thing I have this!" He flashed the gun with his toothy grin in anticipation.

"Wait!" Claude stopped in his tracks.

"Why are we stopping?" Captain Falcon stopped and asked. Claude reached for the Phase Gun and drew it from resting place in his pocket.

"That's right, Claude! I have a Phase Gun too!" Ken announced cheerily. "I was intrigued by the weapon when you used it in the bar. Luckily, I made one of my own before you destroyed my briefcase." He rubbed the gun affectionately. "I'm not familiar with this weapon, however, seeing you use it in the battle above has convinced me that it's very powerful." He turned a dial on the side of the gun and it whined, emitting a familiar light.

"Everybody GET DOWN!" Fox warned just in time.

The beam soared overhead and Ken aimed recklessly, waving the gun about randomly, quickly dispersing the crowd and causing everyone to lie against the rocky floor to avoid the attack. The beam eventually died out after after prying into a wall for a few seconds. Not much damage had been done, proving how resistant the chamber was.

"Tee hee!" He laughed, satisfied.

Claude, not to be outdone, aimed his own Phase Gun. Ken got the message and both prepared for an attack, releasing powerful blasts of light that collided in midair. The power struggle began, twin beams fighting for dominance and their point of collision violently tossing out sparks of charged light energy in all directions.

It looked as if Claude had the upper hand when his beam began to push Ken's back. Ken's smirk of confidence reappeared when the tide had turned – rapidly. Claude cursed when he realized what was happening and why his beam was being pushed back towards him. The Phase Gun was running out of power.

"What's going on!?" Yoshi cried over the ruckus. "Why is Ken winning if their guns are the same model?"

"Because Claude's gun is running out of power..." Samus replied weakly.

_'How do I get out of this one?'_ Claude thought. _'If I stop the beam, I might get hit...but if the Phase Gun dies on me then I'll definitely get hit.'_ The decision had already been for him without his knowledge when a red rope coiled around his body and whipped him out of harms way, sliding him over to Yoshi.

"...was that your tongue?" Claude said quickly, sitting up. "Ugh."

"Hey! What about me? You don't taste that great, you know!" Yoshi retorted.

Claude shuddered. "That's so nasty."

"You're welcome!"

Ken was mostly satisfied with the outcome. He planned on opening fire again to watch his victims flee. His thirst for destruction would not be quenched until the Nintendoverse was destroyed, a thought that resulted in him turning back to find Derrick still hammering at the shield with his chains.

"You still haven't broken it yet?" He asked irritably. Derrick didn't reply. "Step aside," Ken suddenly commanded with newfound glee. He turned the Phase Gun to the shield and, despite the outcries and protests, pulled the trigger just as Derrick leapt out of the way. The beam engulfed the core and shield entirely and Ken laughed hysterically throughout the duration of the blast. When it died out, the shield fizzled before breaking down into sub particles. The core was defenseless.

"Don't even think about it!" Ken boomed upon noticing Jack inching towards him. "I can pull the trigger again before you'd even get to me, even with your Accelerator." Jack cursed silently. It was true.

"Why do you continue this lunacy?" Marth asked in a severe tone. The Prince didn't dislike too many people, but Ken had gotten on his bad side remarkably fast. "What have we done to deserve your hatred?"

"You're the competition," Ken put it simply. "So you must be eliminated. It's really business, nothing personal." He chuckled briefly. "Okay, maybe it is a little personal! Goodbye, Nintendo scum!"

He pulled the trigger again.

Nothing happened.

"...what?" He slapped the gun against his palm. It was out of power. "Damn!"

"Level 3 drains it faster than anything..." Claude stated with a bit of hope.

"Salvas, you'll have to do it," Ken finally said, tossing the Phase Gun aside.

Derrick turned to the core. "I..." he hesitated.

"Don't get butterflies on me now. After all we've been through to get here, the final blow should be the easiest!"

"But..." Derrick didn't move.

Ken sighed and reached inside his suit jacket to reveal a grenade. "I guess you were useless after all."

Seeing the grenade triggered something in Derrick. "Not quite!" He responded, revealing the black teleporter and pressing a button. "Bowser, NOW!"

Bowser materialized in midair before collapsing onto Ken, pinning him to the ground. The grenade rolled harmlessly across the chamber floor.

"I've got you now," he muttered gruffly. "And I'll pay you back for everything."

Ken sneered. "Salvas, how could you!?"

"You're just too crazy..." Derrick whispered and backed away. The look of confusion on his face sent the message that he wasn't quite sure if he did the right thing at the right time.

"Looks like our work here is almost done," Ratchet said to Clank. He smacked Bowser away with his wrench when he refused to move, and handcuffed the madman.

"Ken Watanabe, under the orders of Sony, you're under arrest."

* * *

...teh end!? 

...not even close ;)


	21. Chapter 21: The Beginning of the End

**Chapter 21:** _The Beginning of the End_

"Under arrest!?" Fox bellowed in disbelief. Ratchet had dragged Ken away from the pulsating core and to a more open space of the core's chamber, where he was now surrounded by many angry Nintendo mascots. "You're not cops so you can't really arrest him. This lunatic needs to be executed!"

Fox armed his blaster and pushed it against Ken's forehead until Ratchet swatted it away. They traded angry glares.

"We are under orders to capture Ken Watanabe, not kill him!" Clank explained, but Fox ignored him.

"This bastard's destroyed cities, burned down villages, attacked us multiple times, brainwashed people, tried to destroy our universe, _and even kidnapped my son!_ Don't test me!"

Claude folded his arms and looked to Kirby. The puffball nodded and stepped between Fox and Ratchet.

"Fox, please. Why does he have to die? He didn't kill anyone."

Fox looked disgusted.

"Just because he didn't kill anyone doesn't mean it wasn't his intention," Samus said, keeping heavy surveillance on Derrick.

Kirby gaped. "Samus, you too?"

"Well, I'm not saying he should die, but I'm not sure locking him up somewhere will stop him either."

"She's absolutely right!" Ken said and giggled. "Exit command!"

Nothing happened.

"It doesn't work in core chambers, jackass," Ratchet said bluntly, slapping Ken in the back of the head.

"Oh my," Ken responded in a strangely gleeful manner. "Looks like I'm really in a _bind_ now!" He said, jiggling the cuffs on his wrists. Ratchet slapped him again.

"You're really annoying, do you know that?"

Kirby looked around for any signs of help on his side of the argument. The only one he was absolutely sure felt the way he did was Claude, and that's when the idea hit him.

"Fox! You owe Claude! He saved James, didn't he?"

Fox grimaced and his face became somewhat apologetic. "That's right," he recalled, turning to Claude. "I don't really know how to thank you..."

"Two things," Claude said, holding up two fingers. "First, don't kill Ken."

Fox's jaw dropped. "You must be joking! Even you know how dangerous he is. He's tried to kill you before too!"

Claude stuck to his position. "I know, but I think you might get in trouble if you kill him anyway. He's from Earth so people would notice if he didn't come back home, ever, and if there's some kinda investigation, Nintendo just might have to tell 'em about this place and the DWA Machine. You might even get arrested."

Fox chuckled. "Yeah, right."

"The man's tied up and insane. Lawyers would have a _field day_ with you. You'd get tore up from the floor up. You'd wreck yourself before you checked yourself. You'd-"

"Okay, I get it!" Fox threw up his arms in defeat. "Jeez, I won't kill the man, alright?" He put his blaster away and punched Ken in the gut. "But that doesn't mean I can't knock some sense into him!"

"I'm not done yet," Claude said, stopping Fox in the middle of another punch. "The second thing I wanted you to do was say Shadoink."

Fox raised a brow. "What!? You want me to say that stupid word you made up?"

Claude sighed. "You make it sound like the worst thing ever."

Fox growled and his ears went flat. He did owe Claude, and decided to get it out of the way. He gulped and said, "Sha...doink..."

"What? Shadow wings?" Claude smirked.

"Ugh. Shadoink, you clown."

Claude's smirk grew into a smile as he pried further. "Doink the Clown?"

"SHADOINK, DAMMIT! **SHADOINK!!!**" Fox screamed at the top of his lungs. The chamber burst into laughter.

"That's perfect!" Roy said with a devilish smile. He was aiming the blue phone Marth had earlier directly at Fox. "I'm so glad this phone can record video!"

Fox was flustered and only his fur managed to hide how deeply he was.

"If only Iris could see you now!" Zelda voiced happily.

"Oh, she will!" Roy was glad to report. "Again, and again, and again!" He played the video and Fox's cries of "Shadoink!" filled the room again.

"Give me that!" Fox chased after Roy, circling the chamber.

Wind suddenly picked up and blew past them all towards a shimmering blue portal that opened up behind Ratchet. "Looks like that's our cue," he said, peering into the wormhole.

Yoshi was disturbed by the sight. "Hey, I thought you said that wouldn't work here!"

"I said the exit command didn't work here. I didn't say anything about portals," Ratchet replied. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Wait!" Samus cried when Ratchet began to drag Ken to the portal, pushing Derrick aside. "You haven't told us exactly what you're going to do with Ken!"

Ratchet looked to Clank, who took over. "It's really up to the company," the little robot informed them, holding a metal finger in the air. "But rest assured, he won't come here ever again."

"So we have no say on the matter?"

"None, I'm afraid."

Ken giggled again. "It proves just how weak you Nintendo scum are! But my oh my, Derrick, you're quite the little traitor. Traitor, traitor, traitor!" He sang. Derrick clearly looked uncomfortable. He suddenly stopped as if hit with a revelation. "I see, I see. Oh, you're even worse than I am! Tee hee!"

"What are you talking about?" Derrick finally said, attempting to defend himself. "You're crazy. The only reason I went along with you was because I was mad, but I never wanted to destroy this universe just because of that. I'm just glad you showed me everything before I had to stop you."

"Liar, liar! I can see right through you, my traitorous little apprentice!"

"Be quiet," Ratchet hissed, and literally kicked Ken through the portal. Clank jumped in after Ken's flailing body. Ratchet was next, but before he left, he gave them one final message.

"Maybe you guys weren't that bad after all..."

The portal closed and there was a short silence.

"Well, I guess everything is back to normal..." Derrick said nervously when the attention turned to him.

"Wait just a minute!" Samus ordered. Derrick ceased all body movement.

"You look funny!" Young Link said, circling the boy with interest. "What's with all the chains?"

Zelda grabbed Young Link and pulled him away before saying, "a better question would be, who exactly are you?"

"Derrick Salvas," Claude explained. "I thought I recognized you before. You're the guy that got mad 'cause you didn't win the contest."

"And you're the guy that shouldn't have won," Derrick retorted.

"That's pretty funny considerin' that I did win _and_ met Shigeru Miyamoto."

"Okay, boys," Zelda said, stepping between them before anymore was said.

"You still haven't explained anything," Samus said, jabbing Derrick in the back harshly with her arm cannon.

Derrick took a deep breath. He didn't realize just how much pressure was on him until he looked around and saw the familiar faces staring at him, silently demanding answers and displaying discontent.

"Well, I lost the contest. I was so mad I stormed out of the Nintendo World Store and decided to walk home." He paused. "Actually, I didn't want to go home because I wasn't sure how to tell my parents. So I walked around the area a bit and that's when Ken stepped out of an alley."

"Uh-huh," Yoshi mumbled and folded his arms.

"Hey, that's exactly how I met him!" Derrick shouted. "I thought he was some kind of wino at first, but he knew all about the contest. He said he saw it and agreed that I should have won. He had an offer for me. I figured, since he had to be buttering me up with that talk about how I should have won, I'd at least listen to what he had to say. That's when things started to get weird..."

"He started talking about giving me the prize, which was a digital machine thing...he said it connected our worlds. That this world was real. He told me about how I could get revenge for losing while he completed his task."

"And you just believed him and jumped on board?" Samus asked incredulously. "A machine that connects dimensions is a little farfetched, especially on Earth. I doubt walking up to kids on the street and telling them would garner that response."

"Of course I thought he was insane!" Derrick defended. "He wanted me to be his apprentice or whatever as long as I agreed to it. I was curious so I went along with it, then I knew he had to be telling the truth when he showed me his power. We were on another 'plane' and he just walked through building walls like they were nothing. I followed him and soon enough, we were in the Nintendo World Store. No one even realized we were there. Then he led me into the room with the machine."

"Lies!" Yoshi hissed. "Nobody has powers on Earth!"

"He did," Derrick replied quickly. He thought explaining his situation would make things better, but it seemed to be doing the opposite.

"That would explain how Ken got inside the room," Samus whispered. "I have a theory, but it can't be proven right now. So your word isn't very credible at the moment."

Derrick sighed. "But that's exactly how it happened. He even played around with the machine, telling me stuff every now and then about what it could do. He leveled a city with it but said that wouldn't be enough and decided that we needed to go into this universe. He put a disk into the machine and started talking about how I needed to 'outfit myself appropriately' for the trip...that's where these came from," he tugged at his new clothing and some chains rattled.

"When we got here, I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted to explore, but Ken only wanted to destroy. He kept talking about the mission. I thought that maybe I could stall him, getting him to tell me everything...about the gateways, the core, the orb, stuff like that. And I began checking out the lands for myself but he started getting suspicious every time I went exploring, and he'd even send you guys to follow me," he said, pointing the Wild Arms trio. "You were there waiting for us when we first arrived."

"Why not just go get help?" Zelda asked.

"Like I said, they were sometimes following me. I think he ordered them to kill me if I tried anything. But I never participated in the fights! Really, I never had any intention on destroying this world! You guys are my idols!"

Yoshi closed in on Derrick, causing him to back up. "Just because you didn't fight us doesn't mean you didn't think about it!" He stayed on the Derrick's case until the boy nearly backed into Bowser.

The large reptile rolled his eyes before saying, "the boy's story checks out. He helped me after Ken ejected me from my castle." Bowser grimaced. He didn't like recanting the story so he kept the details at a minimal.

Roy nearly choked. "Bowser? Defending someone else!? That's odd!" The large reptile folded his arms in response.

"Enough!" he shouted deeply. "Let's get this over with." He eyed Derrick impatiently.

"You've got to make a little room for me," the boy said. Bowser complied and released a blast of flames from his throat.

"Hey!" Roy called, jumping back from the fire and wielding the Sword of Seals. "What's the big idea?"

Derrick ran towards the core, holding the teleporter. "Now!" Derrick yelled. Bowser broke off the attack and headed in his direction. Several figures materialized in a line next to Bowser.

"I forgot to mention that while I was exploring, I did a little bit of recruiting of my own..." Derrick smiled. "Don't feel bad. Ken didn't see this coming either."

"Damn," Claude said, both scared and fascinated by the newcomers. "Ganondorf, Dedede, the Star Wolf team, Blood Falcon, and..."

"Asylik!?" Samus barely uttered.

"Asylik?" Claude asked. "I don't know no Asyliks!"

"I heard the famous hunter Samus Aran had her sights on me...so I jumped at the opportunity to get her first. The hunter has become the hunted!"

Samus aimed her cannon at the criminal. "I'll just have to get payed early today."

"You can try. They don't call me "The Shell" for nothing," the insectoid replied smugly. He was right after all. Heavy armor covered most of his body.

"She won't be alone!" Captain Falcon announced, standing rigidly next to Samus.

"_She won't be alone!"_ Blood Falcon mocked in a whiny voice. He stared with a crazed grin.

"To this very day, I still don't know why anyone would EVER clone Captain Falcon!" Yoshi moaned. There was a chorus of agreement.

"Silence!" Ganondorf hissed, stepping forward. "You told us about this core's power, now follow through with your word!" Derrick nodded and walked towards the core until a laser pierced the ground at his feet.

"No," Wolf demanded, pointing a blaster at Derrick. "I don't trust you."

Derrick looked horrified. "What!? You did before! This is what everyone agreed to! I'd divide the lands for everyone!"

"Well, I changed my mind. Is there a problem?" He waved the blaster a little and smirked.

Derrick sighed but didn't dare do anything else with a gun turned on him. "But if I don't do it, who will? You?"

"Ridiculous!" Dedede cried at the idea. "How can we trust Wolf anymore than the boy?"

Ganondorf chuckled. "'We'? Why are you here, bird? You're not even a real villain."

"Said the pig-man," Bowser muttered under Dedede's growls.

Dedede pointed his hammer threateningly towards Ganondorf. "Take that back, Ganon-dork!"

"Or what? Face the further wrath of your amazingly sharpened wit?" Ganondorf chuckled again. As far as he was concerned, he could belittle Dedede all day.

"Panther thinks that Wolf should do it," Panther stated in third person, as usual.

"Oh, shut up you pretentious moron." Bowser wasn't sure how long he could stand to be around Panther, and wasn't going to let him have his way.

They all continued to argue amongst themselves while Blood Falcon laughed maniacally at nothing in particular.

"This is really happenin', right?" Claude asked, giving the others amused glances.

Samus shook her head in disappointment. "And this is why villains can never work together," she said flatly. She took a step forward, attempting to take advantage of the arguing, only to hear several guns load. At least four cannons emerged from hidden compartments in Asylik's armor.

"Don't even think about it, hunter!" The insectoid warned. "I can rain down destruction on you all from the safety of my armor!"

"You blew it, Samus," Yoshi whispered harshly from behind her. "Way to go." Samus simply replied by swinging her arm back and slapping him across the nose nonchalantly.

"So, it's a stalemate," Roy said, exuding a cool aura. He didn't seem to be too worried about the situation. "You guys are over there and we're over here. But, we outnumber you. If a fight breaks out. We'll win. We always do."His voiced reeked of confidence, maybe even arrogance.

"It doesn't take numbers to secure the core," Ganondorf responded. "Which is what I think I should be doing since I am the King of Evil and that puts me above you all automatically."

The arguing broke out again.

This time, Derrick began to creep towards the core. He didn't care what any of them said. They wouldn't rob him of this opportunity.

"Hey!" Wolf cried. Derrick broke into a dash and Wolf didn't hold back, opening fire with the blaster and hitting the boy square in the back. Derrick flew forward and collapsed within the pulsating core, his body engulfed by it's energy.

The chamber began to quake and the core pulsated wilder than ever.

"Wow..." Derrick's voice echoed. "I can't believe this. This is great!" He laughed with newfound enthusiasm. "It's really a shame none of you were nicer to me. I could have given you what you wanted, now there's really no point. The world will be reborn the way I see fit...and those of you that don't belong here...well, you'll probably be deleted."

His final word echoed the loudest. The core discharged a wave of energy that spread from the chamber, the eight seals and throughout the rest of the Nintendoverse. And starting with the center of the chamber, it slowly began to dissolve and disintegrate into tiny particles.

Ganondorf flew towards the core and was flung back by a jolt of lightning. Soon, he too began to dissolve along with everyone else until there was nothing left but an empty, black void.

The Nintendoverse had deleted itself.

* * *

_Now marks the final turning point of the story. There will be less humor and more darkness (in more ways than one) than before. I always wanted to write something like this, and now, I've got the chance. Oh yeah, I'm also going to be re-doing the summary with the next chapter to reflect the transition between the light-hearted first half of the story to the darker approach coming up._


	22. Chapter 22: Derrick's World

**Chapter 22:** _Derrick's World_

Where...am I?

_Where...am I?_

_Wh__ere...am I?_

_Where...am I?_

Was that an echo?

What happened to me?

I was floating peacefully in a dark abyss. I feel my body. I was here. Somewhere. But I had no control of my limbs. I was simply here, floating along...peacefully.

Why am I here? What was I doing before?

This feeling is vaguely familiar. It's like when I'm halfway between sleep and consciousness. I'm awake enough to sense my surroundings, but...

My heart jumped. I remembered what had happened. Halfway between sleep and consciousness...was it all a dream? That was the only explanation. My worst fear since I stepped into the Nintendoverse had come true. I had dreamt it all. From the contest, to my first meeting with Kirby and Captain Falcon in Dream Land, to Ken Watanabe's many assaults on the innocent. Actually, since it was a dream, Ken probably never existed. He, like everything before him, was a brilliant product of my active imagination and subconscious. Or was he?

My eyes snapped open. I was staring into...darkness. More darkness.

This was strange. I've never been in a situation like this before. Maybe it _wasn't_ a dream. And my memory...it's coming back to me.

Derrick had won. He had betrayed everyone. Ken, and his "idols," the Smash Brothers. He had turned against everyone's trust and for what? To take everything away for himself. And me...?

Is this what it's like to be deleted? To die? There's no afterlife? Death is to be locked in a dark prison and only allowed my own thoughts for eternity? How cruel. Maybe I should have listened to Mr. Miyamoto, and gotten out of the Nintendoverse when I had the chance. Now, no one would ever know what exactly had happened to me...

Then I saw it. Out of the corner of my eye. I craned my neck to get a good look. At least I still had control over that.

It was a shimmering crystal palace, floating along in the abyss. The crystals reflected glaring light...what an odd sight.

"Claude."

Who was that? Did someone say my name? Where did they come from? Was it...from the palace?

"No, not quite."

Who ARE you?

"Don't worry. You will be free soon enough..."

What do you mean?

I heard an explosion, and soon millions of tiny...bits were flying around me. These looked familiar to when I stepped into the Transportation Tube and went to the Nintendoverse. And when the world was breaking down around me. These "bits" were data.

Soon, the dark abyss became a white oblivion. And the bits...they were creating shapes.

Now I'm falling! What's happening!? I'm falling so fast...if I landed on anything, I'd probably die. And that's exactly what had happened. Whatever it was, I hit it hard, and...

* * *

Claude awoke with a groan. His head pounded and his back ached, not to mention something was prickling against his exposed arms. He slowly opened his eyes and was greeted with an ominously golden sky. He took in a sharp breath of stale air, and sat up.

"Where am I?"

He looked around. The grass was brown and dying. All of it. And the field stretched for miles. He finally stood up and wiped the dead grass from his vest and pants before looking around the field again. There was something vaguely familiar about this place, but he wasn't quite sure.

He looked into the sky to find the source of the strange colorization, and found the sun to be eclipsed by another round object. The sight was hurting his eyes so he turned away, but not before he thought he saw the ball writhe.

Claude noticed for the first time a mountain looming in the distance to his right and another structure to the north that looked a bit like a town. He wasn't sure where he was going but he'd feel a lot more comfortable around other people and hoped they'd tell him where he was.

He walked for what felt like ages. His boots trampled the dead grass and eventually he found himself trudging along the bank of a drying river. He was now close enough to recognize the town.

It was the marketplace! He was in Hyrule – Ocarina of Time's Hyrule to be exact!

This was perfect. If he was by the river then he was actually closer to Kakariko Village than the Marketplace, and that mountain he saw earlier must have been Death Mountain.

He spotted the bridge and broke into a sprint. He didn't even need the bridge; the river had run so dry that he could clear what little water was left with a good jump, which is exactly what he did. He continued his sprint along the rocky wall until he found the stairs leading up to the village. The sooner he found some people, the better!

He climbed the steps quickly, nearly tripping in the process, and stopped when he kicked the famous Kakariko sign that was usually hanging at the entrance to the village. The Hylian writing was instead broken and lying on the ground, and he soon found out why.

His heart sank and his body numbed from the sight of the ruined village. It looked as if several bombs had gone off. But not just any bomb...gravity had been turned upside down, and the debris of destroyed houses, upheaved gravel and splintered trees floated absently. There were no people in sight, except what he thought were floating corpses in the distance amongst the debris.

His first instinct was to check for survivors, which he quickly learned was a mistake when he stepped forward and started to experience the weightlessness of the ruins. He quickly grabbed one of the posts that formerly held the Kakariko sign and pulled himself back to safety, narrowly avoiding a bouncing jolt of purple electricity.

Backing away, he noticed random instances of the electricity, sporadically appearing and skipping about the ruins of Kakariko Village as if invisible live wires were left sitting around and pulsating. It was probably the residual energy left over from whatever attack took place, which would also explain the flux in gravity.

Feeling the magnitude of what had happened to Kakariko, Claude decided to leave. The village was a lost cause.

"What the hell happened?" he thought aloud, leaving the final set of stairs that led to a once peaceful village. From what he could tell of the marketplace in the distance, it was pretty much intact, but it did nothing to lessen the disturbing feeling he felt ever since he witnessed Kakariko's condition. Unfortunately, the feeling only grew worse when he saw faint shadows cast onto the ground. Shadows that didn't belong to anyone.

He instinctively left a hand on the hilt of his sword as he walked along the bank of the drying river. The shadows followed him. Or was it his imagination? He wasn't too sure, until they lifted off the ground like flat 2D images, and expanded into full 3D form before taking their full shape.

"The...hell...?"

They were solid black, with a hunched back that turned into something that resembled a head. The only features on the 'head' were two beady yellow eyes and three writhing pieces that resembled short tentacles, or perhaps mandibles. Their hind legs were bent and jutted outward, like a chameleon walking on a flat surface. The two front legs resembled human arms, with four individual fingers.

They let out a horrible moan in unison and went on the move, their back legs moving unnaturally faster than the front. Scuttling across the ground, the creatures swerved around Claude and cut off his exit to the Marketplace. He drew his sword just as one dived for him. Stepping to the side, he made a wide slash. The blade passed through it as if it were still a shadow, and the creature rolled to a stop.

Claude took the initiative and his sword radiated a familiar aura when he cried, "_Air Slash!_" Slashing against the ground, he unleashed a white shockwave with a blue aura that ripped across the field. It passed right through the monster, as did the smaller shockwaves trailing behind it.

The other two creatures began to close in. Using what was left of the power, Claude turned and slashed the ground in a semicircle, creating an Air Slash shockwave around his body that acted as a shield.

A shield the monsters crawled right through.

He broke into a dash in the opposite direction, running past the third shadow creature and up a hill. "Damn!" he cursed when a fourth one joined them in the chase, and he found the top of the hill fenced off. He could leap off the ridge, which went over the river, or attempt to fight them off even though none of his attacks were working.

Claude made one last attempt to fight back. Lifting his left hand, he balled it into a fist and concentrated. It emitted a yellow aura that formed into a sphere.

"_Shooting Stars!_" He cried, punching at the air. The sphere detached from his hand and shot forward as a projectile vaguely shaped after his fist. It passed right through the approaching monsters before dissipating into the ground.

It didn't work.

An object in the sky zoomed towards Claude at an alarming pace. His heart jumped when he realized it was Samus's gunship. Two panels on the sides opened, revealing two cannons each that began to riddle and pump the earth with shots. The monsters weren't affected by the blasts, but they were finding the exploding ground hard to navigate, slowing them down.

"Get on!" Samus's voice echoed from the gunship. It hovered near the ridge, awaiting its next passenger.

Claude climbed onto the fence and leapt onto the side of the ship just before the monsters could reach him. The ship began to lift into the air as Claude crawled to the top and rolled into the open hatch. Once inside, he collapsed into a seat and drew a long breath in an attempt to calm his racing heart, and heard the sickening moans of the shadow monsters in the distance. At least the air in the ship was better than the stale air outside.

After a short silence, he finally spoke. "Samus, what's goin' on!? Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that question," Samus replied in a harsh tone. "Are you some kind of fool? Civilians aren't supposed to be out in Hyrule Field during this crisis!"

"Wait, what?" Samus had thrown Claude a curveball. "Civilian? You of all people know I'm not no damn civilian!"

"Then who are you? A lost soldier of Hyrule Castle? You look too young, and you're a long way from home during a crisis like this."

Claude slammed his hands down onto the chair. What was with Samus? "I'm not from Hyrule at all! And what crisis are you talkin' about!?"

Samus finally turned around in her seat to face Claude, leaving the ship on autopilot. "Have you been living under a rock all this time? Even if you aren't from Hyrule, The Darkness is everywhere."

"What darkness?"

Samus pointed through cockpit window and towards the black ball eclipsing the sun.

"...that's what that thing is?"

Samus nearly chuckled. "Who did you say you are, again? And which land are you from?"

Claude jumped out of his seat. "Stop playin' games! I'm Claude, remember? I came from EARTH!" Samus didn't respond. "The first time we saw each other, I was on the Great Fox and you were tellin' Fox about Saffron City. And then we met on Yoshi's Island because the Yoshi Village was attacked!"

Her silence continued. Claude slumped back into his chair. Not only did Samus not remember him, she probably didn't believe a word he was saying, and he had no idea why.

"And through all this, you've never seen nor heard of The Darkness?" she finally asked.

"No. This is all new. This isn't supposed to be happenin'."

"Heh. I wish," she muttered and brought up a video screen. Four figures appeared within it. "Look here. This is The Darkness," she said, pointing to the black writhing ball to the far left of the screen. She pressed a metallic finger against the virtual window and moved it, shifting the object in 3D.

Claude leaned in close. "The Darkness" looked like it was composed of hundreds of large, black worms, or snakes, or whatever. He just knew that they were curled into a ball and wriggling at all moments. Maybe they weren't worms at all, but giant black tentacles. Either way, the sight was disturbing. He had never seen anything like it.

"The Darkness is responsible for this chaos. It came out of no where...a sentient being that can create dark minions from within its deepest bowels at any time." Samus's attention shifted to the next figure to the left. It was familiar; one of the creatures that attacked Claude earlier. "We call this one a Scouter. Its main purpose seems to be to scout the area before and after an attack, though they will go after anyone within their sights."

Claude leaned back in realization. "So that's what happened to Kakariko? It looked like a bomb tore it up."

"That's because a bomb did hit it. The Darkness dropped a NegaBomb onto the village...its power is immense, and the decision almost seemed random. There's so much dark energy in those bombs that it even causes the gravity in the area to fluctuate. But since it was a small NegaBomb, the effects won't last too long."

Claude kept his shock to himself. That was a SMALL bomb? It leveled the entire village. He didn't even want to think about the power of a big NegaBomb.

Samus moved on to the next figure. "We call these guys Destroyers. They're nasty brutes who's sole purpose is to kill and destroy anything in their way."

Claude got a good look. The Destroyers weren't as strangely deformed as the Scouters. They were more human shaped in appearance, standing upright. They seemed larger than the average human, though their legs were a little shorter, and their upper bodies much larger. Their arms were enormous and muscled. Had they been any bigger, the knuckles would be dragging against the ground when the Destroyers walked. And sitting atop the body was a small, dome-shaped head with yellow, beady eyes like the Scouters. And in the same fashion, they seemed to be living shadows, made of pure darkness.

"They're highly dangerous, but we don't see too many of them," Samus said. "Maybe because The Darkness thinks the NegaBombs are sending its message across well enough...for now." On that note, she went to the final figure.

Claude found this one the most interesting, not because of how strange it was, but because of how _normal_ it looked. It was completely human shaped in all aspects and appearances, save for the motif of beady yellow eyes and body made of darkness. It could have passed for a mannequin.

"These are the most dangerous. We call them Morphers. They can shapeshift into any human, and we suspect that they can change into other living creatures too. You can imagine how much of a problem this is."

Claude sat back into his seat. "So how'd you know I wasn't a Morpher?"

"I didn't until I scanned you." Samus smirked behind the visor.

_'When did she do that?'_ Claude thought.

"**We have arrived at the destination**," the automated voice of the ship informed them.

"I see," Samus replied, turning back in her seat to find the marketplace within their view. "Let's go. Stay close to me."

Claude exited the gunship with Samus. The bounty hunter walked towards the back of the ship and pressed a button on her arm cannon. A small compartment opened at the bottom of the ship and a long brown box was lowered slowly to the ground. Claude watched with mild interest, keeping an eye out in case anymore of The Darkness's minions had been lurking about.

Samus knelt down and fiddled with the controls of two hoverpads attached to the bottom of the box. She activated them and the box lifted over a foot into the air. She beckoned for Claude and walked towards the entry point of the marketplace. The hoverpads followed her, while her ship did the opposite and retreated to the skies, not to be disturbed by the unearthly visitors.

The drawbridge lowered slowly and two guards approached them. "Miss Aran," one of them uttered, and they both saluted her. Their hardened gaze eventually fell on Claude.

"He's legit," Samus said. The guards parted and allowed them to enter the Marketplace, giving shifty glances to the box.

Claude's earlier deductive thinking had proven to be correct. The Marketplace was completely intact, but there was only one problem: there were no people. Not one person or their pets. No voices. Not even a slight breeze. The air was as stale and eerie here as before. The only sounds were their footsteps against the road and the slight hum of the hoverpads.

"Everyone's taking shelter inside the castle," Samus answered before Claude could even ask.

A happy tune suddenly played, contrasting the dissonance. Claude reached inside for the blue phone. He had completely forgotten about it! He answered the call and was relieved to hear the familiar voice of Shigeru Miyamoto between static.

"Claude...Claude...?" The static was drowning Miyamoto out. Eventually he stopped speaking for a moment. The static stopped abruptly and he continued again. "Claude?"

"What happened!?" Claude was ready to spill his guts. "We went through the gateway, and I was in the core room ,and Derrick jumped in, then something crazy happened and I was out in Hyrule, and then..."

"Claude, there's a problem," Miyamoto said in a serious manner. "Don't use the exit command. It won't work."

Claude was almost afraid to ask, "...why?"

He heard a sigh on the other end. "I don't want to withhold any information from you due to the nature of our situation." Samus listened to them intently, but said nothing.

Miyamoto continued, "Derrick Salvas...that boy used the core to reshape the world the way he saw fit." Claude couldn't believe it. Why would anyone make a dismal world like this on purpose? "The Core broke down and reconstructed it into this new world, with a history of its own. That's why you may be finding certain things unfamiliar. Or perhaps, they're unfamiliar with you."

"So why can't I use the exit command? And why am I still here when Derrick said I would be deleted?"

"The Core won't destroy human life. Instead, you were most likely misplaced during the reconstruction. As for the exit command...unfortunately when Derrick changed the world, the DWA Machine was no longer synced to it. You are for all intents and purposes, in another reality. A changed world that's no longer what it used to be or where it used to be."

Claude's heart sank. "You mean I can't get back home? Ever!? I'm in so deep...I can't get out..."

"It's not impossible!" Miyamoto tried to reassure him. "I can sync the machine with the new coordinates of that universe, but there's literally millions of coordinates to choose from. Many unexplored universes...but with the connection we have between these phones, I should be able to narrow it down a lot. Still...I can make no guarantees on how quickly this process will be through."

By now, they had passed the Temple of Time and were heading towards the field leading to Hyrule Castle.

"So what if I do get out? What about Derrick, and what he did to this place?"

Miyamoto mulled over what was said. "Well, you could reverse the process by using the core to restore the world to its original form. But the gateways have most likely resealed, and there's nothing I can do to help you on this side as long as the DWA Machine is no longer in sync with that universe. The Machine has no power over it."

Claude grimaced. "Ugh. That means I can't do a damn thing about any of this."

"The best thing I can tell you up to this point is to stay safe. I'm sorry that I can't be of much help from here. I'll contact you again when I have a new find." The call ended. Claude caught Samus's glance, but she still said nothing.

Once they reached the field leading to Hyrule Castle, the security had upped tenfold. Guards were station over all parts of the field, especially at the gate. When they arrived, they had gone through the same verification process as before. The guards also seemed to be expecting the box Samus brought along, which made Claude curious. He figured it might be a weapon against The Darkness, and since he thought she didn't believe any of his story, she probably didn't trust him enough to let him in on any secrets either.

They crossed the field along the path and encountered more security before finally reaching the castle. Once through the castle's gates, Samus made a sharp left turn. Claude was a little surprised since he was sure they were going into the castle, but as he followed her he realized what was going on.

Samus and Claude stepped into the courtyard, which was guarded heavily. They were entering some sort of meeting, composed of Link, Zelda, Mario, Roy, Donkey Kong, and Ganondorf. There was currently a heated debate, which ceased almost instantly when they saw Samus.

Zelda was the first to speak. "Samus? Did you bring...?" Zelda's voice cracked. She didn't finish the sentence, though Samus knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Yes," she replied simply. It seemed that she didn't want to discuss the matter herself.

"...who is this?" Link asked, approaching them. "Samus, why did you bring a civilian here?"

Claude almost died. Link spoke!

"His name is Claude," she informed him. "I found him near the Kakariko ruins being chased by scouters. He says he's from Earth."

Link leaned back and let out a high chuckle. "What an outlandish story! I must hear more!"

Claude didn't like that tone, or having the prospect of his origins called 'outlandish,' but he recounted the story anyway. He told them all about the contest, the DWA Machine, and his first meeting with Kirby and Captain Falcon. He went on to talk about his short tour with Kirby, though he noticed Link's formerly amused face was becoming more and more irritated. He had just gotten to the Saffron City attack when Link interrupted him.

"Ridiculous!" he shrieked. "It was humorous when I first heard, but now this is just...ridiculous!" Link repeated. "There's no possible way you can come from Earth. Everything you've told us so far completely contradicts what's been happening here for days! And besides, there's only one person in the known universe who is said to travel from Earth to our world, and he..." Link stopped mid-sentence and looked Claude over, who stood defiantly and returned the look. He noticed the sword at the boy's side for the first time.

"That sword. Give it to me."

"What? Why?" Claude asked with a hint of sass.

"Because I want to see it!"

On a whim, Claude drew the sword and tossed it to Link. The hero inspected every inch of it, even going as far as to wield it and perform a few practice slashes. His face contorted in disgust and he hurled the blade back to its owner.

"This is a completely ordinary sword!"

Claude rolled his eyes, sheathing the weapon. "Not everyone's got a Master Sword."

"That's not the point!" Link hissed, closing the distance between them as a threatening gesture.

"Link!" Zelda said in a scolding manner. "We know how you feel during the current situation. We all feel the same way. But please, now is not the time! Don't take your anger and frustration out on those who aren't responsible for this! Not _now!_" Her voice was more of a plead than a command.

Link calmed down, though there was still a trace of irritation in his eyes. "Well, excuuuuse me, princess..." he muttered and backed off. With Link out of the way, Zelda took over and decided to try and get things under control, since she was the one that had 'organized' this meeting.

"Claude, I think you realize how hard it is to believe what you've told us," she said in a soft, calming voice. "We have...personal matters to attend to. Why not join the rest of the civilians inside of the castle where it's much safer?"

"But I'm not a civilian, and I didn't even get to tell you everything," said Claude. "There's a lot more."

"Bah!" Ganondorf grunted. "The boy is clearly insane. Let's stop entertaining his stories!" Roy stood next to him and was unusually quiet. Mario also hadn't said anything the entire time, though he looked to be deep in thought.

"For once, I agree," Link said, on the prowl again. "Who do you think you are, waltzing in here and demanding our attention with your crazy tales of coming from Earth? You haven't even shown us proof!"

Claude scowled. Link was closing in on him again and he couldn't understand why he was suddenly the verbal punching bag for his built up anger and frustration. "I liked you a lot better when you didn't talk."

That set Link off. He grabbed Claude, who grabbed back, and the tussle began.

"Stop it Link!" Zelda cried. "Stop it!" But it fell on deaf ears.

Samus stepped in, grabbing Link from behind and pulling him away. He made one final effort and pushed Claude, sending him colliding with the box that had been sitting idly by since Samus brought it. The top slid off from the sudden jerk and Claude looked back to see what was inside.

He nearly jumped from the sight. It started making sense now. The reaction to it from the guards, the averted discussion between Zelda and Samus. Even the shape. But all the rational thinking in the world didn't stop Claude's reaction, or his own sinking feelings.

It was a coffin. For Yoshi.


	23. Chapter 23: Mourning

_Long time coming...but now that I've displayed free will in the presence of Brawl, maybe I can finish the story soon._

* * *

**Chapter 23:** _Mourning_

"What? How...?" Claude wanted to say everything that flooded his mind, yet the words escaped him. The longer he looked at the coffin, the more surreal it became.

"This is a bad joke, right? He's just playin' around!" Claude looked back for any trace or hint that supported his theory, but he found none. Even Link had been drained of his anger upon the sight of his dead comrade. "_**What...what happened!?**_"

"The Darkness," Samus explained quietly. "It dropped a NegaBomb on the entirety of Yoshi's Island. Everything...obliterated. I was sent to recover his body."

"...I-I see no point in delaying the funeral any longer," said Zelda weakly, she was beginning to stutter and her voice cracked at every word.

"Funeral...?" Claude repeated slowly, as if the word was of a complex foreign language. Even with the body as proof, the very thought of a funeral for Yoshi was incomprehensible to him.

Samus guided the coffin on the hoverpads to the site of the funeral, which was outside of the courtyard and in the field, where a makeshift graveyard waited for them. It had been created shortly after The Darkness first appeared, to accommodate all those lost suddenly by its attacks in Hyrule. It was now welcoming its first guest from another world.

They stood in a circle around the coffin. All but Ganondorf and Samus showed that they were visibly affected by what was happening. Ganondorf wore a hardened look while Samus's armor did well to hide her true emotions. Roy looked like he was going to be sick and Zelda occasionally dabbed at her eyes with a royal, gold-trimmed handkerchief. Mario seemed to be taking it the worse. After all, he had been closest to Yoshi out of them all. It pained Zelda to see it all play out.

"Yoshi, you'll surely be missed," said the princess as best she could with her shaky vocals. "I always liked your unusually large, and funny snout...and your sense of humor...and..." She trailed off, apparently finding it harder to say anything else. Link put an arm around her and attempted a bit of consoling.

Eventually they all took turns around the circle, leaving a few words for the dearly departed. Claude still found it hard to believe, but was beginning to accept the truth about Yoshi's fate. His mind wandered while the others expressed their feelings to the fallen hero.

The images replayed in his head like an old video. The first time he met Yoshi, after nearly breaking his neck in one of Kirby's crash landings on Yoshi's Island. How Yoshi had implied that he was everything from a fanboy to a groupie. Even the little spat with Boshi. The two dinosaurs were so alike, it made him wonder why they insisted on being rivals. And how could he forget Yoshi's short exploits on Earth? He almost wanted to laugh until he remembered where he was.

"You help Donkey out many times," a big ape said in a deep voice full of sorrow. Claude realized that it was the first time he had even seen Donkey Kong since he stepped into the Nintendoverse, and the gorilla's simple but meaningful words brought him back to the depths of his memory. And then he felt an intense wave of guilt.

Yoshi did help people when he could. The last time he had seen Yoshi alive was in the core. Yoshi had saved him from Ken's attack and all he did was express disgust in the dinosaur's method. His life had most likely been saved, and all he did to repay Yoshi was to shudder and refer to his tongue as "nasty." It seemed so harmless at the time, and now, so devastating and heartless.

"You're a true hero," Link said, still consoling Zelda. "We all are. But you were the first to fall to that _menace._" He gave a hateful glare to the dark ball in the sky, as if wordlessly challenging it to a duel. When it did not accept his challenge, his gaze fell back onto the open casket and his blue eyes said everything. "You were...no, you are, and will always be a Smash Brother." There was pride in his words.

Mario took over. He in thought. "Yoshi, I...I could never sum up everything I want to say to you...only that...I'll miss you..." Something was wrong. Claude noticed that Mario's accent was gone; just one of the many subtle oddities of this world.

It was Ganondorf's turn now. He cleared his throat and let out an awkward grunt, clearly displaying that he did not know what to say. They had been satisfied either way. At least he had shown up.

With Ganondorf's wordless farewell to Yoshi, Claude realized he was the only one left. It was his own turn. But, did they even want him to speak? After all, they had all known Yoshi much longer than he did. And he didn't even know what to say.

He glanced over to Link. The Hero of Time was too caught up in his own feelings to really notice or care. Normally, he would protest against an 'outsider' attending such a sacred event, but couldn't bring himself to do or say anything. Not now.

Claude only said what had been bothering him for the past few minutes. The one thing he meant most, and wished he had done since he first met Yoshi.

"I wish I'd paid more attention to you..."

With that said, Samus silently approached the makeshift casket, gave Yoshi one last, long look and slid the top over the box. She sealed it, then pressed a button on the hoverpads that made them lower into the hole beneath them. When they hit the bottom, they slid out from under the casket and flew into Samus's hand like boomerangs.

Two stationary guards grabbed shovels and began the slow process of filling the grave with dirt. They all watched in silence for awhile, until the casket was no longer visible, and began heading back to the courtyard.

The silence was deafening to Claude. He didn't want to be the first to say anything but he couldn't believe that they'd just bury Yoshi and leave it at that. So they had a funeral, but then what...?

"Is that it?" He asked incredulously. "We let Yoshi die and go on about our business!?"

"You have any bright ideas?" Link responded, a bit of his old irritation returning. It seemed that without the body of Yoshi in his sight, he could go back to his old ways, even if his lost friend was the subject.

"Um, yeah. How about we do somethin' about it? That _thing_," Claude pointed to the ball in the sky, "got Yoshi. It **killed** him! Aren't you as mad as I am? You all knew him better than I did!"

Link was really steaming now. "What do you think we've been doing for the past two weeks? Sitting around while The Darkness picks us off little by little? Don't you think we've tried to stop it!? We failed! It's still here, looming in the sky as a constant reminder that we're all going to end up like Yoshi some day in the near future! How dare you-"

Samus silenced Link with a hand and stepped forward, signaling that she was taking over. He was clearly becoming blindsided by his rage and she felt it best that she stopped him before another skirmish occurred.

"Claude," she said slowly, in a surprisingly soft tone unlike her full metal figure. "You've fought The Darkness's minions. You've noticed that your weapons and attacks have no effect on it, right?" Claude nodded slowly. "These creatures of darkness are immune to most forms of attack. However, they are susceptible to light."

"Then pass a couple of flashlights around and shine those bitches to death."

"It's not that easy. We need concentrated forms of the Element of Light, such as my Light Beam. Or the Light Arrows. And even Link's Master Sword, which has small quantities of the element forged into its blade."

Well that explained some things about the Master Sword. It was infused with the Element of Light...and something instantly jogged Claude's memory. He had forgotten all about it, and fetched it from his pocket.

"This is my Phase Gun," he said, holding the gun in his hand. "It uses light energy, but it ran outta power."

"That's it?" snapped Link while Samus examined the gun, skepticism dripping off his words. "You think a little pistol is going to make a difference."

"That 'little pistol' is from a civilization at least 400 years into Earth's future," Claude retorted with a smile.

"He's right," Samus added, opening a small compartment on the back of the gun. An empty cylinder shaped capsule slid halfway out, awaiting to be refilled. "This looks like some pretty powerful technology. Maybe I can..."

Her arm cannon expanded, switching into Light Beam mode. It whirred to life and a white globe of energy appeared at its tip, slowly growing with time. Carefully, Samus pressed the Phase Gun towards the globe, and the capsule reacted instantly, hungrily absorbing the fresh light energy. She cut the power after a few seconds, leaving the capsule nearly 75 full of neon light blue, liquid energy.

She handed the Phase Gun back to Claude, saying, "I didn't fill it completely. I need to keep some ammo of my own after all, but that should be enough to help you if The Darkness's minions ever come after you again."

Claude slid the capsule back into its rightful place. He flipped the dial, aimed at a lone flower, and shot the dying plant. It violently exploded into a small pile of pedals, looking no different from the rest of the garden. The courtyard, like the rest of Hyrule, had an atmosphere of death and deprivation about it. Likely caused by The Darkness.

Link, unimpressed, grunted at the display.

"It can do a lot more than that," Claude said with a wry grin, knowing full well the implication behind Link's guttural ejections. He had no intention of wasting anymore of the Phase Gun's power to prove his point, however. If anything, the restoration of the gun helped the case he had been making before.

The grin left his face as he was about to address a serious matter again. "I still think we should do somethin' about The Darkness."

"There isn't exactly a lot of us to do that," Ganondorf said, revealing his feelings on the matter for the first time.

It brought up a point that Claude hadn't thought about before. He suddenly started to feel lonely when he realized that all the other Smash Brothers were no where to be found. At least, not since he had awakened in Hyrule Field. Where were they?

There was a quick pang of despair that rattled his body. What if they had met the same fate as Yoshi?

But no one had said anything about other deaths. That wasn't too comforting a thought when it occurred to Claude that they had been slightly secretive about Yoshi, not once bringing up what had happened before he saw the corpse for himself. And there was always the possibility that The Darkness or its minions had gotten to the others, and no one had known about it just yet.

He had to be sure either way, and asked, "So where's everybody else? You know, Kirby, Fox, Peach, Marth..."

"Dream Land was hit," Samus said. Seeing the alarmed look on Claude's face, she began to explain, "NegaBomb. It wasn't a big one. It mostly damaged Grape Garden, but Orange Ocean and Rainbow Resort are feeling some of the after effects. Kirby's rounding up the survivors and taking them to a more fortified area, then he said he'd meet us here if he could."

"Fox is with his team. They're helping the Corneria Defense Force evacuate people while Slippy works on weapons that can harness light energy. Actually," she contemplated, "that Phase Gun technology might be useful to him."

"Peach and Luigi," Mario interjected, "are still in the Mushroom Kingdom, protecting it from several of The Darkness's minions who attack on a frequent basis."

So they were all scattered because of this enemy. But there were still a few people who hadn't been addressed.

"What about Captain Falcon? And I guess Iris is with Fox?"

"We haven't heard from Captain Falcon in days," Samus whispered. "And...who's Iris?"

That was odd, but Claude realized that circumstances were different, and that Iris most likely didn't exist in this universe. "So what about Marth?" he finally asked. The tone changed instantly.

"Don't you mention that coward!" Link snapped. Zelda looked horrified, as did Roy, who finally spoke for the first time.

"Marth is not a coward!"

"Then where is he, Roy? I don't see him here. Do you!?"

"Link, stop!" Zelda pleaded. "Marth is the prince. It's his duty to-"

"To break the agreement?" Link finished. Zelda looked hurt by having her words twisted. "A NegaBomb hits Kakariko Village and suddenly he and his promised troops are no where to be found?"

"Wait, what's going on?" Claude was trying to keep up.

Link shot Claude a glance quickly, and for the first time his anger was not directed towards him. "Marth was supposed to send soldiers here. Altea has a treaty with Hyrule – they're now allies. Or at least, they were supposed to be."

"That treaty was under different circumstances!" Zelda stated. "No one foresaw The Darkness, and quite frankly, I don't blame Marth for ensuring the safety of his own kingdom. After all, it's not like we're sending _him_ any help!"

Link looked livid...and betrayed. "But we're the ones that were attacked!"

"Shut up!" Mario bellowed, jumping from his seat on the ground. "Everyone just...shut up! There's been nothing but arguing and fighting, before and after the funeral. Yoshi just died! Do you people have NO respect!?"

Guilt spread throughout the courtyard. Even after the funeral, they had been fighting rather than mourning.

Mario walked over to Claude and addressed him, "You. Claude. I don't know how much truth there is to your story. Right now that doesn't matter, what does is that you have the right idea. We should be fighting The Darkness. But we can't." Claude opened his mouth to protest but Mario continued before he could, "Yes, we have weapons that can hurt it. But they're not powerful enough. And we don't have enough people. Quite frankly, trying to do anything now would be suicidal. If only we had the sword..."

Zelda perked up. "You mean the prophecy, don't you?" Mario nodded.

"Oh, here we go again..." Ganondorf moaned and rolled his eyes towards the sky.

"The prophecy is nothing to scoff at!" Zelda chastised. That only made Ganondorf's mood even worse.

"You're gonna have to fill me in," said Claude, feeling slightly like a broken record. "What prophecy?"

"It's known in every land," Zelda explained, ignoring Ganondorf's mocking laugh. "The prophecy states that a boy will be brought from Earth with a magical sword of light and justice during a crisis where even the world's finest fail."

Claude thought it over. He was from Earth...his sword was ordinary, but the Phase Gun had been referred to as a 'Sword of Light' in one culture. But there was nothing magical about it; it was pure technology.

"The only boy who claims to be from Earth has a perfectly ordinary sword," Ganondorf said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Which is exactly why he's not from Earth!" Link retorted. "The prophecy is real!"

"The prophecy is rubbish! Are you going to sit around while The Darkness destroys everything around you in hopes that a magical sword no one has seen or heard off just drops out of the sky?"

"It's not like swords of prophecy haven't existed before." Link rubbed the curved hilt of the Master Sword.

"Then where is this sword?" Ganondorf demanded with a balled fist. "There is no PROOF!"

Light blinded them all, cast down from an object in the heavens. It spun towards the ground, the light becoming more intense as it drew closer.

"What's going on!?" Mario cried, shielding his eyes. "Are we under attack!?"

The object burrowed into the ground almost soundlessly, and the light faded. It was a sword, and materializing next to it was a boy.

They watched him with wonder and fear. No one dared to speak after witnessing this phenomenon. No one but Claude.

He didn't know why he had said it. Maybe because it was the sudden flashy appearance, the convenience, or the shock and realization that hit him afterwards. All he knew was that it escaped his lips effortlessly and thoughtlessly.

"Derrick Salvas."


	24. Chapter 24: A Sacrifice

**_Yeah yeah, I know, its been awhile. But I always said that this series wasn't dead. Not even close. Its just been a combination of writer's block, laziness, other projects and real life holding me up. But now I'm back in the KIJ-zone and this is the final stretch of the story.  
_**

**_

* * *

_**

**Chapter 24:** _A Sacrifice_

There was the sound of feet trampling along the ground. Guards had rushed into the courtyard and began surrounding the boy with spears in hand, but dropped their weapons instantly.

They knew.

They knew exactly who he was.

And they backed away as Zelda and the others approached him slowly.

"You are...?" She began, but the words wouldn't surface. She tried again. "You...you are...?"

"Yes," the boy said, his voice calm and soothing.

"**Bastard!**" Claude screamed. "You did this! Yoshi died because of you!" He charged forward, only to be grabbed by Samus.

"What are you doing?"

"He did it! I told you! The world isn't supposed to be like this!"

"He'll cut you down with that sword," she whispered.

Claude calmed down. She was right, if that sword was as powerful as they were making it out to be. For now, he'd wait and watch. It seemed as if everyone but him knew exactly what was going on.

Derrick looked unaffected, as if Claude didn't exist. He grabbed the handle of the sword, and they all got a good look at it for the first time.

The blade was large and curved. It was certainly a two-handed sword, but Derrick held it in one hand with ease. Three gemstones of different sizes were glowing with light at all times, embedded into the blade and contributing to its radiant qualities. Two of the gemstones, shaped like teardrops, pointed to the circular stone in the center.

He held it high over his head and the sword gave off a blinding light once again. When it had dissipated, his clothing was pure white, and the chains had disappeared.

Zelda's heart fluttered. "You're here to help us, aren't you?" A smile crept along her face. It was the first one she had in days. "And that is certainly the sword of prophecy, the..."

"Salvasaber," Derrick finished. "I know everything that's going on, and this sword was my guide."

Claude looked around. The astonished faces told him that they were buying it, except for Ganondorf, who looked more agitated than anything.

"The only way to kill The Darkness is to strike it at its heart," Derrick stated. "I want to help you," he said in a much lighter tone. "You guys are my idols!"

"Ugh," Claude muttered under his breath.

"You can kill The Darkness?" Mario asked. "Are you sure?"

"Mario!" Link said in a surprising manner. "He has _the sword_, of course he can do it. It's all in the prophecy!"

"We should do it now," said Derrick, casting a weary glance to the ball in the sky. "I don't want to see this place get in any worse condition, and once it knows I'm here with the sword, it'll be on the attack."

"You want us to come with you?" Roy asked as if the act itself were traitorous.

"Like I said, you guys are my idols. It's your world. I just came here to help you."

"Alright then!" yelled Link enthusiastically, holding the Master Sword high in the sky. "Let's strike while the iron is hot!" It was followed by cheers and the first glimmers of hope Hyrule had seen in days.

Claude couldn't contain himself. It wasn't right. None of it. "What's WRONG with you people? I just SAID the same exact thing and none of you wanted to do anything about it. Then this fool falls out of the sky with a super sword and you change your minds. It's like you can't even think straight anymore."

"He has the sword," Roy said quietly. "That makes all the difference."

"Forget about the damn sword!" Claude screamed, making Roy jump a little. "Didn't we just talk about all of our light weapons?"

"Well, if it bothers you that much..." Mario started, thinking how to word what he wanted to say. "Maybe you should stay behind. I wouldn't feel right letting a civilian participate in this. We're supposed to be protecting you, after all. Just trust us now that we have the Salvasaber."

Claude was beginning to protest, but Link chimed in.

"You've got a gun that shoots light," he interjected half-heartedly. "That's great, really, but you're just a kid. Better for you not to get hurt."

"I'm not a kid! I just turned sixteen! And you can't be that much older!" Claude retorted.

"I think he should come," Samus spoke up. All eyes were on her. "He's been one of the first to want to take on The Darkness so readily, and he's fought Scouters before. And like I said earlier, that Phase Gun is powerful technology."

Claude spotted a look on Derrick's face that resembled displeasure, but it faded quickly. "So that's it. I'm comin' too," he said in victory.

Link rolled his eyes but decided not to argue. Now wasn't the time.

"Then we leave as soon as possible," Zelda said. "Get your weapons ready. I'll have to ensure maximum protection of the civilians before we leave."

* * *

The mechanism clanked, as did the chains holding the drawbridge. It was lowering to make way for some of the Nintendoverse's finest, preparing to take on their greatest enemy yet...with two more in tow.

As they stepped into Hyrule Field, the two guards watching the bridge saluted before heading back towards the market place. The bridge receded in a slow, baleful fashion, the sound echoing throughout the empty field. It felt as if the bridge had no intention of lowering ever again.

"Our kingdom..." Zelda whispered, taking in the sight. It had been a few days since she had stepped out into the open, and she had forgotten just how terrible the land had become under the ominous presence of The Darkness. "No...our universe. It'll all be over soon. We'll be rid of this plague once and for-"

"They know I'm here with the sword," Derrick cut in, and pointed the blade towards one large shadow rotating in a circle. The shadow promptly split into ten smaller forms and they began to rise and take shape.

"It's an ambush!" Samus cried, summoning her ship. "Destroyers!"

They were surrounded by the brutes Claude had come to know from his earlier trip with Samus. They looked no different than on the screen, besides being actual size this time, of course.

Derrick made the first move, leading the attack. The others drew their weapons in response: Samus charged the Light Beam, Claude grabbed the Phase Gun, Zelda held a bow with Light Arrows, and Link wielded the Master Sword. Mario, Donkey Kong, Ganondorf and Roy had no weapons of light of their own, but prepared for battle anyway.

Claude twisted the dial on the Phase Gun and shot three lasers into a charging brute. The monster recoiled and moaned as its wounds sizzled; the light burned it like flames.

Samus stepped in and unleashed the fully charged Light Beam. It had a shotgun effect, discharging five globes of searing light. Three of the globes burrowed into the Destroyer, the fourth hitting an adjacent Destroyer and the fifth shooting off into the field.

The Destroyer that took the brunt of the beam collapsed and melted back into shadow form like a liquid, while the surviving Destroyer roared with new anger and charged for them.

Zelda plugged a few Light Arrows into it, while Link closed in and finished it off with several slashes from the Master Sword. The Destroyer melted into the shadows like the one before it, its form bubbling and squelching sickeningly.

Mario's fist was engulfed in flames. He knew a fireball wouldn't work, and instead met an approaching Destroyer by slamming his hand into the ground beneath it. The flames erupted and exploded, creating a crater. The blast didn't hurt the Destroyers, as expected, but their footing was thrown off and several slid into the fresh hole in the earth.

Derrick ran around the remaining Destroyers and slashed them each with the Salvasaber. All it took was one strike to knock them down, and Claude couldn't help but feel like he was showing off. Once all the Destroyers had been taken care of, the shadows began moving erratically and in the direction of Kakariko's ruins.

"What's going on?" Roy asked between breaths, his Sword of Seals proving ineffective against his enemies. "Are they retreating?"

"No," replied Samus as her gunship finally touched down. "They're getting reinforcements!" More shadows appeared in the distance upon that revelation, and Destroyers began to rise in numbers resembling a small army. "We have to go, NOW!"

Samus was the first onto the ship, leaping through the hatch. Derrick and Mario leapt on next, followed by Roy and Ganondorf.

"Donkey Kong!" Zelda gasped.

Two Destroyers had gone straight for the ape, each lifting a massive arm to plow into him. Donkey Kong caught both punches with his own massive hands. He was locked in a power struggle...one he was currently losing.

"Donkey Kong, no!" Zelda cried as Link pulled the unwilling princess onto the ship. "We have to help him!"

"Donkey hold them off," the gorilla said through gritted teeth. "You go...and save universe!"

"But...!" Zelda wanted to protest, but couldn't.

"Zelda, they're almost upon the ship! He's doing this for us!" Link said, finally getting Zelda onto the ship. Her body went limp, the bow almost falling from her grip. She was close to crying.

Claude looked on in disbelief. "We can't just let him be the next Yoshi! The entire reason I'm fightin' is so this didn't happen to anyone else!"

"GO!" Donkey Kong commanded, crumbling under the strength of the Destroyers.

"No," Claude said under his breath, aiming the Phase Gun once again. He twisted the dial once more before shouting "DK, get DOWN!"

Donkey Kong mustered all his power and threw the Destroyer's weight back at them, then rolled under the hovering sphere, narrowly avoiding the blast that erupted seconds later. The explosion engulfed the two Destroyers and repelled the multitude of others, both due to the force of the attack and out of fear.

DK moved like lightning; faster than Claude had ever remembered seeing him move in memory. And before he knew it, he was scooped within the grasp of one of the gorilla's powerful arms and they were flying through the air, towards Samus's ship..which had already started to take off. Once they landed on top, they rolled through the hatch and into the interior.

The rest of the crew were just starting to take their seats while Samus did manual piloting. As she guided them into the skies of Hyrule, the echoes of the Destroyers' moans lingered in the air.

Silence followed and Claude took the opportunity to look around. Zelda looked a little worse for wear. Nearly losing Donkey Kong to The Darkness like they did Yoshi left her disturbed. Claude couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but this Zelda felt different from the other. She seemed to lack confidence and initiative where the other had plenty to spare.

Ganondorf sat with his hand leaning against his face, with a look that resembled amusement. What was he thinking about?

Link, on the other hand, looked completely emotionless. A strange contrast to Roy sitting next to him, still shaken by the ambush.

Mario's brows were furrowed. Like Ganondorf, he seemed to be lost in thought.

And then there was Derrick, siting closest to Samus. His expression was unreadable, and the gleaming sword never left his grasp.

"And you know how to defeat The Darkness?" Samus asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Derrick replied. "I have to strike it in the heart – with the sword."

"I'm not sure if getting that close will be possible if it's expecting us," Mario said worriedly. "Last time we tried an assault like this, we failed miserably." He recalled their first attack on The Darkness, the day after it had appeared in the sky. "And the heart is located directly in the center...this is starting to look grim..."

"I think we all knew that there was a possibility some of us might not make it through this," admitted Samus. Her words added to the dismal tone inside the ship. Even with the much revered sword in their presence, it still felt like they were marching towards death as the ship climbed higher and higher into the sky.

"I don't think there's anything to be worried about," Derrick said casually. "I do have the Salvasaber after all. The reason we got ambushed is because it knows I'm the only one that can cut it down with this blade." What he probably thought was reassurance came across to Claude as arrogance.

Roy started to regain his composure. "Not to sound negative or anything, but how are you supposed to kill The Darkness way out there if you're inside of this ship?"

"Maybe I'll stand on top of the ship while it's guided towards the center of The Darkness," Derrick continued in a casual tone, as if it were the most simplistic thing in the world. Claude couldn't believe that they weren't as put off by his attitude as he was.

"That'll be a spectacle to see," Ganondorf muttered sarcastically.

Claude smirked. At least someone wasn't buying it.

After several minutes passed, the sky had forebodingly darkened the closer they got to The Darkness. To Claude, it looked just as it did in the picture Samus showed him earlier, except a hundred times larger. It also gave off a strange purple aura, which the bounty huntress had deduced earlier as its form of protection, repelling all natural light sources.

Derrick moved towards the hatch of the ship and was preparing to go through with the plan he had brought up, until Link stopped him.

"I can't let you go out there by yourself." His eyes trailed down to the Salvasaber. "I know my sword's not as good as yours, but it can still do some damage!"

"Then I'm goin' too," Claude announced, jumping up from his seat.

"...why is there a civilian with us?" Derrick asked innocently.

"Don't pretend like-"

Samus grabbed Claude and pulled him to the side. On Derrick's insistence, he climbed out with Link and killed the argument before it had even started.

"Why did you stop me!?" Claude asked, his temper flaring. "I can't believe you did that!"

They received a few glances, but Samus didn't care. She left the ship on autopilot...and she had to know. She pulled him a little further away from the others.

"Is it true?" She finally whispered once they moved a short distance. "Everything you said?"

"...So you believe me!?"

"When I scanned you earlier today to make sure you weren't a Morpher, I got no information. _At all._ So at the very least, it means you're not from the Nintendoverse." She paused for a moment. "When we were in the Marketplace earlier and you were on the phone, were you talking to...?"

Claude nodded. Samus's heart began to race and she received a jolt of excitement; it felt like she had solved some big mystery everyone else had neglected.

"You knew his name before he ever showed up. I heard you say it. What's going on...?"

"I told you before that everything wasn't supposed to be like this," Claude explained. "Derrick did it. I still can't figure out why, but we were all fine before, and Yoshi was alive, and..."

"I knew it," she whispered in realization. "I just felt so helpless, and I don't like that feeling. I can't stand it. And I know about the prophecy and the sword, but I just can't stand around and let someone else do everything. I won't. It just didn't feel right. And The Darkness...it came out of no where. There's not a whole lot of reason to trust this Derrick boy."

"Samus!" Zelda gasped. She overheard the conversation. "We have known about the prophecy all of our lives! How can you not trust him? It finally came true at the best possible moment!"

"But that's what makes me suspicious," Samus replied, her voice raised to a normal level now. She wasn't too concerned about what the others thought anymore. If what she suspected was true, everyone needed to know about it anyway.

"See?" Claude added on. "It's too convenient."

"Absolutely. Who _exactly_ is this boy and where did he come from? What if this prophecy is a lie just to make an excuse for us to trust him so easily? And that sword...where did something so powerful come from? It's like it was _made_ to destroy The Darkness. Everything's not adding up."

"Are you suggesting that he is working for The Darkness!?" Zelda said shrilly.

"No," Claude interjected. "But he's got everything to do with it being here."

"So the question now is...what do we do?" Samus turned to Claude for answers, something she did not feel entirely comfortable doing. It simply wasn't in her nature.

"I could bring things back to normal if I could get to the core. That's what sustains the whole Nintendoverse," he informed them once he saw their reactions. "But its sealed off by elemental gateways. I can't really do anything about that now."

"Our best option then would be to at least get rid of The Darkness..." Samus muttered.

The ship jerked violently. A large black tendril had slapped the side, sending the three of them crashing to the floor.

"The Darkness is attacking!" Samus yelled, scrambling back to her seat. She took manual control of the ship, steering it away just in time to avoid being slapped by the tendril again. She flipped a switch and a video window with a view of the top of the ship confirmed that Derrick and Link were still on, and only shaken by the sudden attack.

The writhing objects that Claude had thought before to be worms or tentacles was what had attacked them, and two more black tendrils had extended from the mass of The Darkness and was heading straight for them.

Samus put her piloting skills to the test, maneuvering the ship out of harms way without losing Link or Derrick. Unfortunately, while she was parrying the attacks of the two new tendrils, the original offender latched onto the ship and coiled around it several times. They had been stopped dead in the air.

"Do something!" Roy cried, clinging to his seat for dear life..

"I am!" replied Samus, slamming on the thrusters. The ship rocked violently, but the grip was still too much. The turbines were no match for this beast.

There was a low, gut-wrenching sound that shook the ship steadily from vibration. The tendril that was holding them began to burn with white fire, letting go of the ship before burning away from The Darkness and falling to the earth in flames and ashes.

Samus, watching one of the screens, saw that Derick had cut clean through the tendril with the Salvasaber. That sound that they had all heard before had been the agonized cries of The Darkness. It was indeed sentient, and got a small taste of the sword made to strike it down.

The thrusters came back to life and the ship zoomed off and away from the two tendrils waiting in the distance. Samus became concerned when the tendrils didn't give chase, and soon found out why: The Darkness had resorted to another method of attack. A black cloud had been sent right in their direction.

Samus veered to the right, but not fast enough. The cloud latched onto the ship and seeped through the cracks, as if being sucked into the interior by a vacuum.

Once inside, it retreated to the back of the ship, condensing into a familiar form. It's completely black body flashed green in an instant, and Zelda let out a cry that was halfway between anguish and fury.

"Zelda, why?" It asked, its voice, its appearance, and its demeanor all stolen from Yoshi. "Why did I have to die?"

Zelda was speechless. She backed away, slowly shaking her head in disbelief, any words she could think of failing to express what she felt.

"Claude!" It turned to him sharply with a pleading look. "Look what it did to me! It killed me!" It took a step towards him.

"The..hell...?" Claude was similarly at a loss for words.

"I could feel it," it started again. "The NegaBomb. Burning my scales, melting my organs..."

"Heartless bastards!" Zelda cried, plugging a Light Arrow into the Yoshi mimic. It recoiled and its appearance mutated like liquid into the dark body of a featureless man. It finally exploded into a cloud of smoke from a shot of the Phase Gun, the golden arrowhead of the Light Arrow once embedded inside of it clattering on the ship's floor.

Zelda waved her right arm swiftly, kicking up a magical gust of wind that drew the cloud out of the open hatch. It left with a laugh of childish glee.

"Pure evil," Mario muttered, staring towards the arrow on the floor. "This monster...is pure evil...there's no other explanation."

"That's it," Claude stated, fed up. "I'm goin' out there!" He climbed out of the hatch before anyone could stop him.

Claude attempted to balance himself on the moving ship once he saw Link and Derrick having no problem.

The Hylian looked over his shoulder, and the words slipped out of his mouth in shock, "What are you doing up here!?"

Derrick turned around in disgust before slashing at another tendril, which fell out of the sky on contact. "You're really starting to get on my nerves!"

Claude was amused. "So you stopped pretendin' like I wasn't here?"

"I can't concentrate with your constant interference!" Derrick complained. "You're NOT supposed to be here!"

"I'm not supposed to be here? YOU'RE not supposed to be here, and the world isn't supposed to be like this!" Claude retorted. He wasn't going to give his new rival any ground.

Link stood back and watched the argument in confusion. "What exactly are you two talking about?" He asked with the slight hint of agitation.

He was ignored.

Derrick continued to complain. That confident, smooth air he was giving off before had vanished. "Why can't you just leave me alone and let me live my life the way I want?" He waved the Salvasaber recklessly while flailing his arms around in aggravated gestures.

Claude let out a cynical laugh. "Your life? What about Yoshi's life? And all the people here? One of _your_ stupid monsters that _you_ made up was in the ship, _mocking_ him! It's your fault he died!"

"Then get out of my way so I can take care of The Darkness! Just...go back home or whatever!"

"Fool, I can't go home. The DWA Machine's not synced anymore because of what you did!"

"Look – I don't care! Just...just **go away!**"

"I'm not goin' anywhere! Not 'til I fix this mess!"

Derrick whipped around completely and pointed the sword towards Claude.

"Is that how it is?" Claude reached for the grip of his own sword.

"I'm sick of you!" Derrick cried, raising the Salvasaber high. "You shouldn't have won the contest and you shouldn't be in my world! I want you to DIE!"

"WATCH OUT!" Link cried, not because Derrick was making the first move, but because someone else had taken the opportunity. A black tendril latched onto the Salvasaber, the familiar pained growl reverberating for miles. The tendril began to writhe and disintegrate, but not before it finished its mission.

With a hard yank the Salvasaber was pulled up and away from the gunship, but Derrick held on for dear life until a second tendril slapped him back. He bounced off of the canopy before rolling along the top of the ship until Link grabbed him, narrowly saving him from falling to the depths below.

With one final scream, the Salvasaber was broken into pieces and tossed at the gunship like shrapnel. The gemstones once powering the sword pathetically plummeted to Hyrule, rendered useless and having forsaken their one purpose of existence – to end the one that ended them.

Derrick simply lay on his side, blankly watching the tendrils that grabbed the holy sword burn away in clumps. Both Link and Claude were speechless, as were the occupants of the gunship who had witnessed it all from a screen inside.

But The Darkness wasn't finished with them yet.

A black cloud emerged and shot at them like a missile. It was like the one before, and undoubtedly contained more of The Darkness's minions looking to wreak havoc. It wasn't until the last minute that Link realized the trajectory of cloud. It was heading straight for Derrick, who continued to lay as broken as his sword.

"What are you doing!? Get out of the way!" He screamed, wasting his breath. With no other choice, he raised the Master Sword high and held the Hylian shield tightly before jumping into the path of the cloud and slashing effortlessly through the swarm. Unfortunately for him, he became the sacrifice when smoky hands formed and held him in a death grip.

Samus let out something between a curse and a wail as the blackness carried Link off into depths unknown rather than plowing into the gunship as anticipated. She steered the ship hard to give chase. The Salvasaber may have been a loss, but she wouldn't lose another friend.

"This is all your fault! I hate you!"

Derrick's outburst caught Claude off guard, still confused by Link's sudden sacrifice and abduction. It was exactly why he didn't see the kamikaze strike, as the deranged youth charged him, throwing them both off of the ship and leaving them at the mercy of the skies of Hyrule.

* * *

**_Like I said, this is the final stretch. There are literally 3 more chapters (and an afterword) left, and then...we move on to the sequel!_**


	25. Chapter 25: Claude vs Derrick

_You've waited and I've waited, but KIJ4 is back on track. This is the climax, the last big battle before the end of the story. It's a duel for control of the fate of the Nintendoverse._

_It's been awhile since I've updated, so I'd suggest anyone that hasn't read this recently reread it from Chapter 22 onward. That's the point where the Ruined World story arc starts. There are only two chapters after this that comprise the finale, and one more update with some interesting info and details on the sequel._

* * *

**Chapter 25:** _Claude vs. Derrick_

They plummeted towards the ground; Claude couldn't believe Derrick would be so stupid. In his tantrum, he had just doomed them both.

Claude could only make up the ground spiraling towards them. There was something below, maybe a building or two, but more dead grass surrounded it. All he knew was that it was definitely out in Hyrule Field, and that there probably wasn't anything below that could cushion his fall.

He looked over to see Derrick spinning out of control as well, and then up to see Samus's gunship streaking off in Link's direction, its crew probably unaware that they had lost two more.

All seemed lost until Claude brushed over an object in his pocket and his eyes flashed with hope. It was a crazy idea but it just might work.

He grabbed the phase gun, turned the dial and pulled the trigger while aiming towards the ground. His heart leaped with joy when it began to whine and emit light – it had enough power...or so he hoped.

The blast of light plowed through the air and into the ground, creating a crater the longer it was buried into the earth. The recoil of the blast slowed Claude's descent; the longer he held the trigger, the slower he drifted towards the ground.

Finally, he cut the power, landing ahead of the crater from several feet in the air with more grace and agility than even he realized he had. With his own safety intact, he looked to the sky, torn between feeling guilty for not being able to help Derrick and feeling that whatever happened to the boy was brought on himself.

But he saw no one. However, his suspicions were confirmed when he heard the great flapping of massive wings. He whipped around just in time to see Derrick touch down in a crouch, two crimson wings of dark energy protruding from his back. With the presence of the holy Salvasaber gone, his once pure white outfit slowly transformed back into the black that he had worn before, the color shifting like an invisible paint roller running along his clothing.

Claude was, to the say the least, furious. "What the hell is wrong with you! You almost killed us both!"

Derrick stretched his wings and looked on with pure distaste and arrogance. "You ruined everything. You're interfering with my world! Now that you let the Salvasaber get destroyed, nothing can stop The Darkness! Don't you see what you've done!"

"Me! You made this stupid world and that darkness! Why? You can't play around with other people's lives like that!"

"What would you know? You're the one that ruined it for everyone. I was going to slay The Darkness and live here as one of the appointed rulers for what I did. I could be here forever, never having to worry about school, my parents, murder, hunger or anything like that!"

"..that's exactly how the story you wrote went, ain't it?" Derrick didn't respond. "How selfish can you be? What woulda happened to Yoshi after you 'saved the world'? And everyone else that died?"

"Some people have to be sacrificed," Derrick darkly admitted. "It wouldn't have been a cataclysm if people **weren't** dying. They would have been remembered, but not everyone's going to make it every time a fiend assaults the universe and a new utopia is born."

"And Yoshi woulda been avenged and everyone in your debt for saving them from a monster **you** created?" Claude let out a cynical laugh. "You probably don't realize it yet, but you've straight _snapped_. You're about as crazy as Ken."

Derrick bore his teeth; a nerve had definitely been struck. "Don't compare me to that lunatic! He wanted to destroy everything. What I'm doing will be better for everyone in the end."

"Let me get this straight. You helped Ken try to destroy the Nintendoverse just to double cross him, met up with some of the most dangerous villains in this universe to double cross them too just so you can make a world being torn up by a monster you imagined so you can save everyone and they can be in your debt forever. And on top of that you just grew some crazy ass demonic wings, and you _don't_ think you're just a little bit evil?"

Derrick flexed his fingers and dark energy enveloped both of his hands, covering them like gloves. They extended into sharp claws.

"...and claws too, apparently," Claude finished, slightly disturbed.

"Shut up!" Derrick cried out. "I'm not the one that's evil!" His crimson wings and claws changed from their former crimson color into a deep violet and crackled with energy – a sign that he was ready for battle.

Claude swiftly removed his sword from its sheath. The battle wordlessly began.

Derrick's dark wings were outstretched and he leapt into the, taking flight. He enjoyed every minute of it as indicated by his spirited laugh.

He made a graceful turnabout in midair and dived straight for Claude, who had jumped towards him in anticipation. They attacked simultaneously; Claude's slash had missed its target, but Derrick was much luckier when they landed and he got a glimpse of the crimson streaks along Claude's back.

"Lucky..." Claude muttered under his breath. Derrick simply took the opportunity to take flight again.

Claude wasn't going to give him the time to repeat that attack and instead held his left hand ahead of him. Energy surfaced in his palm as he concentrated. He had never successfully used magic during all his time in the Nintendoverse, but the spell in question was low level and basic; ideal for beginners.

The light blue sphere of energy in his palm dispersed suddenly. The Firebolt spell was complete, and now in his hand was molten rock, which he hurled straight towards Derrick. The fireball swirled in midair, a tail of flames snaking behind it.

"Hmph," Derrick grunted. He stopped mid flight and hovered in place before jutting to the left to avoid the projectile. Unfortunately for him, he was oblivious to the Firebolt spell's homing capabilities. The fireball did a complete 180-degree turn and plowed into his back before he could make any snide remarks. The embers burst on impact, sizzling and burning against his skin and clothing.

Derrick's dark wings of energy were unaffected by the attack, but the flames were painful enough to distract him, causing him to touch down onto the ground. He was not likely to attack from the air again

The wings folded and slowly faded, but the claws remained. Derrick cracked his knuckles as if brandishing the weapons that enclosed his hands before dashing forward and engaging Claude in close combat.

Derrick took a swipe with his right claw and made a jab with the left one. Claude spun to the left and made a wide swing with his sword, but Derrick caught it in his hands. The dark, transparent energy forming Derrick's claws were not only solid - they were impenetrable by the blade.

Derrick pulled the sword towards him and Claude with it, looking to follow up with another swipe of his claw. Claude ducked low, freeing his sword, and struck again with one more slash of the sword. This time Derrick stumbled backwards with a gash near his stomach; payback from earlier.

Derrick started to panic when Claude continued with a flurry of slashes, his claws were barely able to keep up now that he was on the defense. When he experienced the burning sensation of the blade cutting through his skin once more, this time along his left shoulder, he jumped back and took effortless flight as the wings sprouted from his back again.

"Not this bull again," Claude muttered as Derrick soared about in the ominous golden skies above. If he wasn't so busy keeping track of Derrick's location, he would have swore that The Darkness had increased in size.

This time Claude grabbed the phase gun. Twisting the dial, he unleashed a volley of lasers as Derrick glided straight for him. A laser struck one of Derrick's wings and it dissipated from the attack, the light energy canceling out the darkness. Derrick started losing control and veered to the left, but not before grabbing Claude in the process.

Claude felt Derrick's claws digging into his back as he was lifted off of the ground. The wing was returning but Derrick was still flying erratically, heading straight for the farmhouse that was behind them. Claude braced for impact as they plowed through the walls of the wooden house.

Dust and debris clouded his vision. Though the pain of the claws in his back was gone, it was quickly replaced when he rolled along a floor and slammed into a wooden dresser. There was another crash and more dust and debris filled the air and rained down on him. He looked up to find that where there would have been a door was instead a large hole, and most likely where Derrick had ended up.

Claude scrambled along the floor looking for his lost Phase Gun, dropped on collision. He spotted a flash of silver under a tattered wooden board and tossed the debris aside before snatching the gun up off of the floor. He stood up and got a good look at the room, recognizing it right away. They were definitely in Lon Lon Ranch.

Claude crept toward the hole Derrick had made. His opponent had landed in the room below and in a pile of cuccos that clucked furiously at his intrusion. Claude would have been amused if he weren't fighting for his life.

He looked down on Derrick with his Phase Gun drawn. "So where'd you get your powers from?"

"Where do you think?" Derrick snapped, slowly rising off the ground and out of the sea of Hyrulean chickens. "The same place you did."

"Not likely. They ain't half as good as mine," Claude replied with a jubilant smirk. Derrick growled and the claw in his left hand morphed into a black sphere with an indigo core that pulsated and rippled like water inside of it. Claude flicked the dial of the phase gun and pulled the trigger, releasing his own sphere just as Derrick tossed the dark ball.

He turned and ran without waiting to see the collision; that much power in one place certainly wouldn't have a pretty ending.

Claude dove through the entrance hole the battle had created before and rolled into the eerie, dying fields of Lon Lon once again. He stayed low to the ground as the high-pitched screech of colliding energy gave way to an explosion that tore the roof right off of the farmhouse. Debris rained down onto the ranch along with clouds of feathers – the unfortunate victims of the battle, and a loss Claude hoped to reverse by defeating Derrick.

The explosion receded into what looked a bit like a spiraling blue and black vacuum that pulled and shredded everything nearby, demolishing what was left of the farmhouse before expending itself. No doubt it was the aftereffects of such powerful polar opposite energies clashing and canceling each other out, the risky business of fighting the element of darkness with the element of light.

Derrick shot out of the remains of the house, the wind and power behind his flight was powerful enough to topple over what was left of the west wall of the farmhouse. He was a little battered but it didn't seem to bother him.

Claude didn't waste any time sending another Firebolt spell after Derrick. The molten rock followed its target through the sky. Derrick zigzagged through the air and was amused when the fireball followed his pattern; to him it was like a game...and he was winning.

He dove down low towards one of the few remaining buildings on the ranch which happened to be the cattle stable. He swung off to the right and flew along the wall, tricking the firebolt into ramming into the side of the stable and leaving a scorch mark. The cattle inside had already been freaked out by the quaking from the destruction of the farmhouse and the firebolt was the last straw. Rampant mooing filled the air shortly afterwards from the panic-stricken animals.

Derrick was on the ground again, but this time decided to try a new trick. Rather than risk being diced by the sword, he stood at range and the two chains around his waist came to life. They flickered with the dark light that powered his claws and wings, lashing against the ground sporadically like aggravated snakes. One shot forward like a spear, prompting Claude to pivot. It stopped in midair and swung to the side in an attempt to grab him off guard, but Claude flipped over it while laughing against the mooing in the background. The second chain joined in by whipping the ground, sending a clump of dirt Claude had been previously standing on into the air with force. Claude deflected the chain's follow up attack with his sword and continued to laugh spiritedly with every failed attack.

Derrick gritted his teeth and the mooing wasn't helping his concentration. "Stop pretending like you're not taking this seriously!" He screamed in frustration. Energy gathered around his hand and he opened his palm, sending forth a crimson laser.

Claude ducked the attack out of instinct but quickly found out that it wasn't even aimed at him. The laser had instead burrowed into the side of the stable. The point of impact seared a bright glowing orange before spreading along the rest of the walls, culminating in a flaming explosion that sent the roof – and the charred bodies of several cattle – rolling through the air. Claude looked on in disbelief.

"What did you do that for!"

"I couldn't concentrate," Derrick replied flatly.

"I wanted to try some famous Lon Lon Milk," Claude commented disappointedly when the cattle corpses collapsed onto the ground. "Now I'm goin' to have to settle for Lon Lon burgers instead."

There was a rattle at Claude's feet followed by something squeezing his legs together. In the commotion, the chains had died while Derrick had enacted his frustration upon the ranch's farm animals, but had just as quickly sprung back to life, catching Claude by surprise.

"I told you to start taking this seriously," Derrick chided. He bore one of the few smiles since his world became a reality, and without a doubt a triumphant but twisted smile.

Claude tried to move but the chains only tightened and coiled even further up his legs. "You're a freak, aren't you?" He hacked and pried at the chain with his sword with little reward. "Well, I ain't really into this kinky stuff."

Holding his sword out, Claude began to spin in place, pulling Derrick in towards him as the chains tied to his opponent's waist bundled around his legs. His speed only increased until he became a whirling blur of a twister. The chains finally knotted, pulling Derrick through dirt for a few revolutions.

The twister expanded, causing the chains to explode into broken links from the pressure put against them. The whirlwind dissipated in a windy blast, sending Derrick careening through more earth. He jumped back to his feet quickly, but from his condition, it was obvious that the Twister Blade attack had taken a toll for him in comparison to Claude.

"You've got tricks for everything don't you?" Derrick hissed hatefully.

"You're one to talk with your damn wings and Medusa chains."

"Don't forget the claws!" Derrick warned with newfound enthusiasm. He held his hands forward and curled his fingers to mimic the claws until the actual dark energy swept over his hands and reformed the sharp weapons.

'_Damn, he brought out the claws again..._' Claude thought. The claws had done the most damage to him during the fight and he could still feel where they had sliced through his back before. He needed some way to counter them, and he knew just what to do.

He clapped his boots together twice.

"You're not going to get home that way," Derrick commented.

Fluorescent blue light engulfed Claude's boots in a flash. He felt lighter on his feet, but with much more power behind them. He could tell from the expression on Derrick's face that he wasn't amused.

"I call these Lucent Boots. Or Stomplighters. Maybe Lightrunners? Namin' special techniques is hard." Claude shrugged. "Hey, you said yourself that I've got tricks for everything."

"Puh-lease."

"At least it ain't a generic name."

The sky was suddenly filled with a sound resembling the crack of lightning. The Darkness pulsated with a red aura before several of its black tendrils extended and hurled toward the land below. The tendrils, enlarged since the last encounter, dug into the major regions of Hyrule. The most visible attack was of the tendril that embedded itself directly into the rocky carapace of Death Mountain.

The assault finally came to a halt, but not before one last tendril claimed the ruins of Lon Lon Ranch, implanting itself into the ground only feet away from Claude and Derrick. The tendril was static for a few seconds before coming to life, thumping and pulsating like a blood vessel. The already dying grass wilted and melted into an inky blackness that slowly spread from the point of impact; The Darkness was the heart pumping its toxic blood into the earth through the pulsating veins that now connected it to part of the Nintendoverse.

Claude bore witness to the horrific act with little idea of what to do. He didn't have much time to contemplate it all before Derrick broke into a dash and attacked him with his claws, putting Claude's latest technique to the test.

The sword became more of a shield as Claude used it to block and deflect claw strikes while using his boots as the weapon. Derrick slid back a few feet after receiving a straight kick to the gut, the added power causing a minor shockwave in the process. He wasn't fazed for long, as he dove back into the battle with arms flailing.

Claude felt the claws slice across his leg as he attempted another kick. Derrick changed his strategy a bit now that he had gotten a taste of the Stomplighters, carrying the fight on with more claw strikes and a surprise attack with another laser from his palm that missed by inches.

The Darkness wasn't one to be ignored, initiating yet another tendril assault on Hyrule. This time Lon Lon Ranch had been hit with several veins. The once flourishing land now resembled a bizarre mockery of itself, appearing as if it were depending on the dark bonds jutting into and killing it.

'_I have to end this soon or we all might die from The Darkness,_' Claude decided, vaguely observing the world transform around him. Blows from his light-powered boots were wearing Derrick down, but the claws had taken a toll on him as well. Of the two weapons, the claws were the most devastating, and he tried to ignore the many rips in his clothing and the blood he felt trickling along his limbs from exposed wounds. _'I guess I have to be the one to increase the brutality if I'm going to finish this.'_

Claude sheathed his sword...an action that left Derrick suspicious. Regardless, he dove in, with at least the intention of stopping Claude from doing whatever he had planned with another wave of attacks. His strikes with the claws became less coordinated and more feral, fueled by his growing hatred and the fear of his ultimate fate if left up to The Darkness.

Claude realized that he would have to get closer than he'd like to actually pull off his plan, but it was actually Derrick who unwittingly set it into motion. Derrick took a direct kick to the gut, but instead of sliding back, he shot forward with the sudden sprouting of his wings, using their power to propel him with one solid flap. He made his move, shoving his right claw into Claude's chest

"If you're going to take my world, my _right_, away from me, I'm going to take yours first."

"...bang."

Derrick was puzzled by that response until he felt the light burrowing into his stomach. He took a direct shot from the Phase Gun at point blank range, and it wasn't a simple laser. The result was a blue blast that blew the adversaries apart.

Claude skidded to a kneeling position, peering through the dust cloud to see Derrick's motionless body facedown in the field.

'_Don't get up don't get up don't get up..._'

Derrick began to stir.

"Damn..." was all Claude could mutter, feeling the extent of his injuries. Derrick could barely get off of the ground himself, but he instinctively knew where his enemy was, providing a hateful glare as he struggled off of the ground. His clothing had been completely disintegrated where the blast had connected in his stomach, leaving his flesh burned.

He finally gave up fighting with his earthly limbs and summoned the dark wings again, coming into existence with little sign of trouble.

In a flash, the sound of an unsheathed blade accompanied the cold steel pressed against Derrick's neck. "Tch. This battle is over, unless you plan on losing your life today."

Derrick didn't have to look to know that Jack was breathing down his throat, most likely with Rudy and Cecilia as backup. His wings dissipated as quickly as they had appeared; he had finally admitted defeat.

Satisfied, Jack returned his sword to its scabbard. "Now are you two boys done fighting? If so, maybe we can figure out what's going on here."

By now, Claude was standing and making his way over to the trio. His surprise and relief at seeing others alive and well made him forget about his pain, even if temporarily.

"I know exactly what's happening! He changed the world into this hellhole!" Claude bellowed, pointing at the crumpled figure of Derrick.

"It wouldn't have been this way if you didn't interfere! You only have yourself to blame!" Derrick retorted. "It's all his fault!" he added as a sort of plea to the three foreigners.

"That may or may not be true, but all hell's breaking loose around us! We need to get out of here, fast!" Jack's gaze turned onto Derrick, and there was little if any pity behind it. "If you made things this way, then you know how to reverse it all, correct? It is possible, isn't it? What were you even thinking!"

Derrick's eyes wandered to the ground as he felt the others' outrage beginning to suffocate him. It was one thing to get into it with Claude. For however briefly, they had wordlessly and mutually became sworn enemies and rivals, but to hear it from those whom he felt would be neutral started to bear down on him. The events of the day were making him crack.

"I couldn't stand it...I just couldn't stand being in that house for another day..."

"That's what this was about? Domestic problems? You know, most people see counselors about that kind of stuff. They don't invent monsters to ruins worlds!" Claude would have thrown his arms into the air in anger if he hadn't winced from the pain.

"You're hurt!" Cecilia shrieked, when she got close enough to see the extent of Claude's injuries. Normally, he would have told her it wasn't a big deal, but all that came out was a soft gurgle when his chest wound decided to spasm.

Within seconds the princess had raised her staff and summoned her magical powers to cast a healing spell. The soft sparkling light enveloped Claude's body, closing his wounds and drying blood as it washed over his skin. It was an odd feeling as his pain dulled before leaving a tickling sensation.

"Thanks princess. It's good to know that I ain't the only one with some humanity left."

Derrick growled; that was clearly a potshot. Either way, he continued with his story. "You don't know what it's like. None of you know. Those people were supposed to take me in. Everything seemed like it would be the perfect new life when I left the foster home this time, but it was really a facade for those people. They've been trying to mold me into their perfect little robot. They aren't parents, they're trainers. They're thinking about what's best for them, not me."

The latest scuffle replayed in his head. He could see it as he recanted it.

"Entering the contest wasn't even my idea. My foster 'mother' was always against my hobby: games. She would always tell me to stop wasting my time with those useless things. Pointing and cackling and mocking me...ironically, she was the one that saw the ad and forced me to enter, and told me to make something useful out of it. Knowing my foster parents, they probably thought the prize was money and planned on using it for themselves. Losing the contest just meant that things would get much worse for me."

Derrick's personal sob story was doing nothing for the guys. In fact, it seemed to be pissing some of them off. Cecilia took it upon herself to coax a solution out of the troublesome youth, kneeling down beside him.

"So this was your way of running away? Believe it or not, I understand what it's like to be under immense pressure, and then given the opportunity to be set free in a new, amazing world. But what you're doing is as bad as...no, it's worse than your foster parents' treatment. You're playing with a whole universe full of lives here, and things are going badly. Please...the first steps towards any kind of redemption would be to help us bring things back to the way they were. This world now is hopeless; it has no future. Everything here is doomed to die, and many innocents have died already."

Derrick had to look away from Cecilia's sincere eyes. It was the only way he could continue his protest. "You don't understand. I had to make things like this. If I had just slipped in here and decided to make myself useful, I could have ultimately been rejected by the few that gave me solace. They could always be thinking in the back of their mind 'sure, he helps us every now and then, but we really didn't need his help. He's expendable.' But if I could save them, avenge their fallen, and protect them in their ultimate time of need, there was no way they could have rejected me. It was the perfect position and I would have rightfully earned it."

"This is ridiculous," Jack muttered under his breath. "You think you've got it bad. That's fine. You want people to accept you. That's also fine. But the way things are going, there won't be any of you left to accept. Or any of us for that matter. We have to change things now!"

"All you have to do is go back to the core and reverse everything," Derrick stated flatly.

Claude turned to Jack and shrugged. "The only way I know how to get back in there is through the gateway in Lava Valley and then we have to find one of those orbs Ken had and...we just don't have time for that!"

"The teleporter. He has it."

Jack and Cecilia didn't seem to be all that phased by those words but Claude had to do a double take at the origin of that information. It was the first words he had heard Rudy speak since meeting him.

"Where is it?" Jack growled at Derrick. He looked to be on the verge of beating it out of him. Derrick slipped the battered control device out of his pocket. The Hanpan, the 'wind mouse,' crawled out of Jack's coat, leaped onto Derrick's arm, snatched the teleporter in his maw and nimbly returned to Jack by leaping onto his shoulder.

"It took a beating but it looks like it still works," Hanpan informed him after dropping the teleporter into Jack's open palm. The treasure hunter immediately began to scratch his head with his free hand as he examined the many dials and switches that covered the face of the teleportation device.

"Just press the button near the top," Derrick murmured. "The last coordinates should still be set to the Core Chamber."

"Alright everybody, get close," Jack said sternly. "I don't want anyone getting left behind."

They drew close together as he pressed the button. They faded out like a fuzzy TV image, leaving the ruined farmlands to be further taken over by The Darkness.

They appeared in the familiar core chamber. The core itself was now a deep crimson and its shields spun in a subtle fury.

"I don't think the Phase Gun's got enough juice to break the shields!" Claude informed them as they ran towards the core.

"Then we'll just have to give you a little help," Jack said, laying a hand on the grip of his sword. Rudy held a silver gun with pronged tips and energy crackling on them. Even Cecilia was ready to cast a few spells if needed.

Their preparation was for naught, as the shields disappeared by themselves. They traded glances and Claude noticed that Derrick was keeping his distance, most likely out of guilt. He still didn't trust him, and decided to go for the core before Derrick had the chance to screw things up even more if he wanted to.

He jumped into the pulsating core just as dark spines broke through the cavernous walls of the chamber. Inside, he immediately felt his body engulfed by warmth and his vision went white.

* * *

I remember this. It was like the time Derrick erased the world...but this feels much better. This feels comforting.

"Welcome back."

You...you're the core, right?

"Correct. What is it that you wish?"

Just like that? You'd grant me anything?

"I'd let you shape the world as long as it is within my power. Though I must warn you, we don't have much time."

Then it's settled. I want you to change everything back to the way it was before Derrick ruined it all.

"As you wish."

But...does that mean it'll be exactly as it was left? Does that mean that maybe...maybe Yoshi would still be alive? And everyone that died or didn't exist in Derrick's world would come back too?

"Yes. It shall return to what it once was, and those of you in my presence shall retain your memories."

Wait!

Even going back, things were in a mess. There was a group of bad guys...it's not that I don't think they can be beaten. I mean, come on, we're talking about the Smash Brothers here, but it could still get really ugly in there. Blood Falcon is a loose cannon and I don't know anything about that Asylik guy...

"What do you wish to be done?"

Just send them back to their own worlds. I've been in enough fights today and so have the Smash Brothers.

"...as you wish."

With little warning, I heard a familiar explosion and the sea of warm light I had been bathed in was being torn apart before being reformed...the "bits" I saw creating and destroying were data. Or were they atoms and molecules? Everything about this world definitely felt **real**.

Before I could even begin to ponder the secrets of this universe, I was yanked out of this little subspace and...

* * *

Claude blinked. He was back in the core chamber, the core itself giving off a soft blue light. He looked around and found himself in a crowd, surrounded by the Smash Brothers. Looking back, he saw Rudy, Jack and Cecilia, as well as Derrick.

"Does anyone else feel strange?" Roy asked, voicing his concerns. He held a hand to his forehead and wobbled as he tried to walk.

"I feel like a just woke up from a long slumber," Zelda murmured. Link came to her aid, holding her by her shoulders. "No, no, I'm fine."

"Where did Blood Falcon go?" Captain Falcon asked when realization hit him. "And Ganondorf and Bowser and..."

"Exit Command."

And with those words, Derrick Salvas had been whisked away, back to Earth. Even with his former nemesis' sudden escape, Claude couldn't help but smile. His wish had been granted. Everyone was safe again, at least for the moment.

"Hey," he said, patting Yoshi on the shoulder. "You still givin' out those autographs?"

The dino turned around with an incredulous look. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"I'll explain everything."

* * *

_The world is saved! But there are still some lingering issues that must be addressed..._


	26. Chapter 26: The Festival of Stars

**_The world has been saved. The enemy has been defeated. So what does one do afterwards? Relax! And then, rebuild. The journey, and this story, is slowly winding down and everything is being put back into place._**

**_Note: Dream Land's Festival of Stars is not to be confused with the Mushroom Kingdom's Star Festival. Two separate events._**

* * *

**Chapter 26:**_ The Festival of Stars_

The grassy fields of Grape Garden were bathed in the flickering, dancing lights of the Star Festival. In the fields were citizens of the region as well as foreign visitors: The Smash Brothers, their friends, and the yoshi refugees. In the night skies above them were the highlights of the Festival of Stars.

Like holidays marked with the celebration of fireworks, the Dream Landers put on a light show of their own. In the sky were dozens of small, sentient star-shaped beings that performed the ritual. The actual 'ritual' itself consisted of them playing, dancing, and chasing each other through the air, creating words, shapes, and abstract patterns as they darted about, sometimes colliding to create a brilliant burst of light and stardust that trailed down to the earth below, further entrancing their audience.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the cheery voice of Kirby rang.

Claude turned from his spot on the ground to see Kirby standing next to him with a basket of star shaped candy he had been handing out.

"Yeah," he replied thoughtfully, grabbing a piece of the candy and slipping it into his mouth. The tangy flavor faintly reminded him of mango. "Fireworks back home don't even come close to this."

"I'm glad you got to see it."

"Me too." Claude sighed and leaned back into the grass when Kirby left. He continued to watch the stars paint the sky. They were in the process of creating a face that was beginning to look a lot like Mario. Just as they were putting the finishing touches on his sparkling mustache, a piece of paper was dangled into Claude's view.

"Here you go!" Yoshi announced proudly. "One autograph for my number one fan!"

Claude took the paper and examined it in the darkness. Once the stars were finished drawing Mario, they had crashed into each other in another bright explosion, erasing the portrait and sending its remains to the ground in a rain of glittering stardust. Claude used the light to get a good look at the autograph and furrowed his brows in response.

"This...is a handprint." Sure enough, there was an inky handprint on the paper. "I thought you were gonna sign it, or write a message or somethin'..."

"Signatures can be forged. This is much more authentic," the dino said as if he had it all thought out from the start.

"I guess you've got a point, but still..." Claude folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. "Maybe I can sell it on eBay."

Yoshi's jaw dropped and his extensively long tongue almost rolled out. "WHAT! You're not supposed to sell it, you're supposed to cherish it!"

"It was a joke," Claude said, watching Yoshi's face slowly morph from shock to annoyance. "Besides, I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them I got an autograph from Yoshi."

He stopped and thought for a bit. "Well, no, I've seen some crazy stuff sell on eBay. This ain't even as much of a stretch." Claude stood and dusted the grass from his pants. "Anyways, thanks for the autograph."

"What's going on with you? You've been acting a little different lately." Yoshi was watching him intently. Claude looked into his eyes and remembered the events in Derrick's twisted world.

He had told the Smashers all about it, or rather, as much as he wanted to divulge. He told them about The Darkness, its minions, the ruins of Kakariko, his encounter with the alternate Samus, as well as his multiple spats with who he had dubbed "Sassy Link." He had also told them about Derrick's foretold appearance and his over-extravagant sword of destiny. He even recounted his showdown with Derrick and their eventual escape with Jack, Rudy and Cecilia in tow.

But he didn't tell them about Yoshi. He couldn't bring himself to say the words. Even as Yoshi pestered him for details about his alternate self, all he could tell him was that he was "out of commission." Hey, it wasn't really a lie, right?

"Well whatever it is," Yoshi continued, snapping Claude out of his trance, "_I like it!_"

"I'm gonna see what everybody else is up to. You comin'?"

"Nah, I think I'll go stea- er, grab some more of that candy Kirby has." A deceptive grin crept along Yoshi's face as he trudged along in the direction the little puffball was heading in.

Claude climbed the small hill, passing by yoshis and a few familiar faces along the way that were also taking the time to enjoy the Star Show. At the top of the hill were sets of tables under a display of "star lanterns" strung about. Upon further inspection, Claude found that the lanterns were more like star shaped metals that gave off a bright natural light. The complexities of how that worked confused him, but so did just about everything else in Dream Land.

Sitting on the tables were various foods...or what was left of them. Zelda and Falco had unfortunately volunteered to set up the food. Just as the last plate had been set, the yoshi refugees, not letting the earlier events of the day ruin their appetite, attacked simultaneous, giving the two no choice but to dive to the ground in an attempt to save their own lives as countless whip-like tongues assaulted the food like sentient whips, smacking each other, grabbing what they could and demolishing anything left over in the process.

A considerable mess was left behind, but by now a new set of food and treats were set out. Claude scooped a handful of what looked like bright blue grapes and popped one into his mouth. To his surprise, the experience ended up more like eating gummy candy than any fruit he'd ever tried.

"I'm gonna get cavities if I stay here," he thought aloud.

A table stood apart from the rest with a lone star lantern swaying above it. On the table was a large piece of paper, and peering over it were Samus, Captain Falcon, Zelda, Marth and Fox. Zelda's dress still bore evidence of The Great Food Catastrophe while Fox cradled his son. James' big hazel eyes were wide and focused on the performance above them.

"What's up?" Claude said, joining them at the table.

"We're going over plans for the reconstruction of the Yoshi Village," Samus informed him. "If everyone agrees tonight, we may start as soon as tomorrow."

"Mario drew this up!" Captain Falcon exclaimed, the words feeling as if he hadn't completely believed them himself. "Can you believe that he's not only a plumber and a doctor, but an architect and carpenter too?"

"Well if you ask me, they didn't have much of a village in the first place," Fox voiced his opinion without hesitation while shifting James in his arms. "It was just an open space in the woods with a few huts."

"All the more reason we should be doing this," Samus replied. "It's Mario's idea to add a defensive wall. According to Yoshi, something like that would normally be protested but after the incident with Ken, the yoshis are a lot more open-minded."

"I believe I can request workers from my kingdom if need be," Marth offered graciously. "I can retrieve them myself."

"Oh, I don't believe that'll be necessary," Zelda told him. "If all of the yoshis pitch in, even just a little bit, this should go over relatively smoothly."

"Hmm, yes, I see your point princess," Marth murmured in agreement. A playful grin drew across his lips. "We have extraordinary abilities as well, with the lot of us participating this project may even be...fun!" The prince's declaration of possibly enjoying laborious work garnered him blank stares from around the table.

"What about you Claude?" Falcon asked, breaking the silence. "You're going to help us rebuild, right? I mean, you don't have to but..."

"Definitely! It's Spring Break so I don't have school all week!" Claude realized that he had said that maybe a little too enthusiastically, since the uncomfortable silence was now focused on him. He quickly changed the subject. "So where's Rudy, Jack and Cecilia? They didn't leave yet, did they?"

"Oh no, they should be around here somewhere," Zelda said. "They wanted to stay long enough to see the festival, so they should be on their way back home any minute now."

Fox let out an indignant grunt at the thought. He still wasn't quite fond of them even in light of their situation. No one could really blame him though; his family had been put in danger several times due to Ken and his mind slaves.

Claude couldn't help but play with James' little ears, especially since the fox kit didn't mind. In fact, the child's little arm began to reach for the bright fruit candy in Claude's other palm. "So what happened to the babysitter?"

"I have no idea, but he better get his ass in gear if he wants to get paid," Fox growled. "I shouldn't pay him at all considering what happened to James."

"Well it wasn't really his fault and James is safe, right? I mean-"

A shimmering blue portal appeared off to the distance, the sound reminding Claude of a wind tunnel. It was much like the one Ratchet and Clank used to whisk Ken off to who-knows-where. As the portal stabilized, he could see clearly into another universe entirely. The window to another world gave way to a large stretch of desert. In its distance was a town. It didn't take Claude long to realize that they were peering into the desert world of Filgaia.

"Looks like this is our ride," Jack said, suddenly appearing behind Fox and Claude. He lowered his voice and patted the Earthling's shoulder. "I heard from your friends here that you never lost faith in us. Thanks."

Cecilia and Zelda traded bows. "I thank you for your hospitality and understanding of our situation," the foreign princess said.

"It was no burden at all," Zelda replied. "I'm quite sure you would have done the same for us. It's good to know we have more friends in other universes."

"No, no, I truly thank you," Cecilia pressed on. "I don't know what would have become of us if that Ken fiend had gotten his way in the end. And I can understand that even though we were his puppets, some of you still feel a bit of anger at what transpired as a result."

"No, I assure you. We all understand," Zelda consoled her new friend. "We'll come to terms with everything. There is no damage that is irreversible."

"...Thank you."

"Don't beat yourself up over it, princess!" Roy had heard the commotion and quickly made his way over. He initiated a sudden hug with Cecilia "I'm just sad to see you go."

"Maybe you can come for a visit one day."

"That goes for all of you," Jack added on, looking at Claude in particular. "You could actually come with us right now, if you want. That's Rosetta Town in the distance."

Claude's smile faltered after a few seconds. "No, I can't. It's gettin' kinda late, I'm gonna have to get back home soon."

"Well the offer is always on the table." Jack gave him one last pat on the shoulder before joining Cecilia and Rudy by the portal. Rudy himself was always a boy of few words and now was no different, though he did make eye contact with Claude and nodded.

The trio stepped into the portal and instantly reappeared in the desert of their home world. Cecilia and Rudy cast a glance back into the Nintendoverse just as the portal began to close.

"Oooh, I missed it!" Iris whined a few minutes later, slapping her hands against her jeans. "I wanted to know more about their world!"

"Well you didn't miss much," Samus told her. "They said we could visit anytime we wanted."

James was passed from father to mother, and with his hands now free, Fox went to look for the remaining food.

"Speaking of which," Iris began, letting the now sleepy fox kit rest his head on her breast. "Claude, we haven't really gotten the chance to talk about Earth yet. Or is it too late?"

Claude looked into the night sky, this time witnessing the face of Kirby weaved in light by the stars. "Yeah, I think it is gettin' a little late. It's Saturday but I don't wanna get home too late and make my mother worry."

"Oh...okay. I know all about worried mothers these days. But maybe next time," she replied softly, rocking her sleeping child. She tried to mask her disappointment. "Don't forget to bring pictures, then."

"Yeah, okay." Claude stopped and thought for a moment. The future wasn't as certain as he thought. "Wait, next time? I'm not sure if there's gonna be a next time."

Iris blinked. "What do you mean? This is a one time trip?"

Claude shrugged. "I don't know. I only got here because of the contest. Mr. Miyamoto never said it was a one time trip..."

"But he never said it wasn't either," Samus finished.

"So you mean these may be our last few minutes together...forever?" the red vixen asked.

Claude nodded solemnly. "Guess I won't really know until I get back."

"Hey, what's with all the long faces?" Roy stepped in, seemingly unfazed by the news. "You should make these last moments enjoyable. Personally I can't stand sappy goodbyes."

"There's nothing 'sappy' about feeling sorrow when friends depart," Zelda scolded Roy, removing his arm from her waist where it had moved earlier without her notice.

The red headed swordsman smiled sheepishly in reply. "I still don't think we should be standing around feeling bad about this."

"As infrequent of an occurrence this is...I agree with Roy." Samus almost spoke in a whisper, afraid to admit those words too loudly. "Come on, Claude. We should enjoy the rest of the festival."

Samus locked arms with Claude and led him back to the food tables. Claude realized that it was one of the few times he had physical contact with the bounty huntress. Even though she was still fully clad in armor, he enjoyed it, and let her lead the way, where they came upon Fox stuffing his face with little regard to any table manners.

"What! What are you looking at?" He demanded irately, not even bothering to set the slab of meat down. "Today's been insane, I haven't had a bite to eat until now!"

They traded glances and laughed. Fox ignored them and returned to feeding his growling stomach.

Another twenty minutes of laughing, talking and generally enjoying everyone's company flew by. The stars had given their final performance, which was a much more complicated drawing of a floating map – a glittering recreation of Dream Land. With the light show over and the last of the food consumed, the Festival of Stars winded down.

And with it came the round of goodbyes.

"Whenever you see cars, I want you to think of me, okay?"

"Uh, sure." Claude didn't question Captain Falcon's strange request.

Marth shook his hand. "I am honored that we have met, Sir Claude of Earth," the Altean prince spoke softly. "I hope that today had a positive impact on you...and that you take what you have learned back to your home and use that experience to help those around you."

Roy put his hands behind his head and smiled. "See ya!"

Zelda frowned. "Is that all you could say? You sound as if he's going to the market for an hour or two!"

"I told you, I don't like sappy goodbyes!" Roy's defense did nothing to change Zelda's mind.

"Well regardless, I'll miss you Claude," Zelda said with a hug. "It's really a shame that you couldn't stay longer..."

"Yeah, there's so much we can learn about each other's culture," Iris added. "I may not know much about your world but I know it can't be too bad if people like you come from it. Thanks for helping us get James back alive."

"Yeah, thanks," Fox murmured. "I don't really find you annoying."

If Fox could have seen through Samus' visor, he would have spotted her brow raise. "Was that supposed to be a compliment? You still have a ways to go after all."

"Hey, this isn't about me! It's not like I insulted him, so don't change the subject!"

"I'll take what I can get from Fox," Claude said and they all had a laugh. Well, everyone but Fox.

"Don't forget about me!" Kirby tugged at Claude's pant leg and was scooped up into his arms.

"I'd never forget about you! First thing I met when I got here was your hammer."

"I'm still really sorry about that," Kirby apologized with a sheepish grin. "I wanted to show you around a bit more, but who knew today would be so hectic?"

Kirby was ripped out of Claude's arms by Yoshi and tossed aside like a ball.

"Hey!" the puffball cried as Zelda caught him.

"I know, I know," Yoshi began, "there's not much we can say, but cheer up. You'll remember this day for the rest of your life. You got to meet me after all! And if things turn out for the better, you get to see me again!"

"We're not trying to scare him away. We _want_ him to come back," Roy jabbed.

Yoshi folded his arms and cocked his head to the side, "har har."

Claude was at a loss for words. "I don't know what to say. I wasn't expectin' a big goodbye like this. But you all know how I feel about this place and everybody in it." The truth was, he didn't want to say goodbye, because it solidified the idea that he'd never be back. But the longer he stayed, the harder it would be to leave.

"Exit Command," he said while waving. A green light from the sky enveloped him and lifted him into the air. "See ya'll later."

"Goodbye!" he heard a chorus of as he lifted into the air, along with a few other sentiments of departure.

"Send postcards! With pictures of cars on them!" Even as he shot into the sky, he couldn't help but grin at Captain Falcon's request.

He was moving too fast to appreciate the darkened landscapes of Dream Land. As he looked above, he saw bright shapes moving about erratically, and realized that it was the stars from before. Just as he reached their level of height, everything went black and his senses were blurred. He wasn't shrouded in total darkness, but his vision was so distorted that he could barely tell if the small light he could see was right in his face or miles off. And, just like a high cut short, it ended abruptly and left him reeling.

"Welcome back," he heard as he stumbled out of the transportation capsule. Shigeru Miyamoto was leaning over the Sky Viewer in the center of the room with a familiar warm smile on his face. "I take it all is well?"

"Yeah...Ratchet and Clank took Ken away, Derrick's gone and everybody was talkin' about rebuildin' the yoshi village." After spending all of that time in the Nintendoverse, talking to a man he admired and thought he'd never meet came surprisingly easy to Claude. "Did anybody get Derrick when he left?"

"I'm afraid not. He slipped out in the commotion of opening day," Miyamoto replied. Claude could tell that he didn't seem too upset by that, and he wasn't sure if it was just a poker face or not.

Folding his arms, Claude leaned against the viewer, peering into the sight before him. It was the same land he had just left: the darkened scenery of Dream Land. Though he figured the center of lights were from the festival, the view was too zoomed out for him to make out anyone. "Is anybody gonna stop him? After what he did..."

"I agree that what he did was awful, but we must look at this with real world insight. The crimes he committed were not in this universe. And the one that he did commit here – breaking and entering – was through the assistance of Ken Watanabe. If we bring the authorities into this and give them the needed freedom and details to do their job, it'll expose our little secret," he said, patting the side of the viewer.

Claude agreed with Miyamoto's foresight, but still had a nagging feeling. "And if he comes back, then what?"

"I don't think he will. I heard his story," Miyamoto replied, his face looking a little sterner. "That boy was broken before he ever got here and was motivated by desperation. This was his last escape and he failed. I believe that he needs professional help to deal with the lingering issues that have come from his experiences in unstable or even hostile homes."

"Didn't think about it that way...but I still don't trust him."

"Rest assured, new security measures will be taken, especially in the case of another visit like Mr. Watanabe's."

Claude peered deeper through the Sky Viewer, but his mind was recalling the story of how Ken broke in. "You ever figure out _exactly_ how he got in here? It's hard for me to believe Derrick's story; that Ken already had powers to break in with. I mean, in the other world, anything can happen. This is just regular old Earth. You've gotta get to that universe to get any kind of powers in the first place."

"I assume he used Sony's own DWA Machine. You saw with your own eyes that it's possible to bring things back and forth from both universes when Yoshi paid a visit to our world. Ken must have made a bargain – through the machine of course – to keep the powers he attained from another DWA Machine when he returned to Earth."

"Wait a minute! I thought this was Nintendo property! How did Sony get one!"

"Paints a different picture of the situation, doesn't it? Nintendo is an entertainment company. We have neither the means nor the resources to create a world-bending invention such as this. We received it. And we weren't the only ones."

Miyamoto's serene posture changed a bit with that last sentence. Was he worried? Maybe even a bit upset?

He spoke again, returning to the subject of Sony's rogue employee. "We've received correspondence from Sony about Mr. Watanabe. He was acting entirely of his own accord, or so they say."

"Even Captain Falcon wouldn't fall for that," Claude said with a grin. It quickly faded when his thoughts progressed back to the friends he left in the other universe. "I guess this was just a one time deal, right?"

"I'm afraid so," Miyamoto confirmed, smiling sadly. "That was the prize: a one-day trip. But it's a day I'm sure you'll never forget. No one can take your experience away from you."

"Yeah, I know. I made so many friends there though. Feels bad that I can't see them again or do everything I wanted, but it's probably selfish to ask for more."

Miyamoto gently placed his hand on Claude's back and guided him to the reinforced door leading out of the room. "We have some paperwork to fill out. You can tell me everything then."

* * *

_**One chapter left to go! Did you wonder what Ken's ultimate fate was? You'll find out in the final chapter.**_


	27. Chapter 27: No More Insanity?

_**It's been a long haul...longer than it should have taken, but I'm glad we got to this point. This is the final chapter, and I'd like to thank all the readers for listening to a tale I wanted to tell. Normally I'd be a lot sadder when I reach the end of a story, but the end of this tale is just one part of a larger story.**_

_**And so I present to you the final chapter of Kirby's Insane Journey 4.**_

* * *

**Chapter 27:** _No More Insanity?_

The bus ride home was a somber experience. I would be lying if I said that the last few hours weren't still on my mind. Not just the fantastic worlds I had been to, but meeting Shigeru Miyamoto as well, and my run-ins with Ken and Derrick. And then there was the DWA Machine. How did that thing even work? I guess it didn't matter in the end; I signed a non-disclosure agreement (even though I had no intention of blabbing, but I understood why for security reasons) and my prize was over. Mr. Miyamoto was right – nothing could rob me of the experiences I had today. It would be selfish to ask for more, when my first trip was a miracle in itself.

I got off the bus near my neighborhood and started the walk to my house. It was a little after 8PM and the sky darkened with every passing minute. An early night breeze made me wish I had brought a jacket. I saw the black jeep in our driveway, which meant that mom was home. She'd want to know all about the prize. I wasn't sure what to tell her. The truth was out of the question.

I opened the glass screen door and noticed a piece of paper taped onto one of the windowpanes of our main door. I figured it belonged to another one of those pizza places, but as I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I realized that it was an envelope addressed to me with something small and boxy inside of it.

"I'm back," I called, but before I even attempted to open the envelope, my dog Max dove around the corner and headed straight for me.

"Hey boy," I said, petting the German Shepherd. He whined happily as I rubbed his head, and I could see that his attention was now turned to the envelope. He was just as curious as I was of its contents.

"How was it?" my mom asked from upstairs. I hid the envelop in the back pocket of my jeans, even though she couldn't see me from where I was.

"It was...insane, pretty much," I replied. I thought that summed up the more exciting parts of the day.

"So what was the big prize?"

"It's a secret," I told her, and instantly regretted it. She would probably start to pry now.

"Is that right?"

"I signed a paper and everything," I quickly started to explain myself. "I can't talk about it to anybody."

"Not even your own mother?"

"Nobody can know."

"Uh-huh," my mom murmured. I could feel the skepticism dripping door the stairs. "Whatever it is, it'll probably be out by next year anyway."

She left the conversation at that.

Good, she thought it was a secret game or console. Most people would.

I felt relief wash over me. It gave me time to come up with some deflections if she tried to pry into the subject again. Knowing my mother, she would.

I took the envelope out and walked into the family room. The commercials running on the TV was the sole source of light in the room, so I sat on the couch and flicked the lamp on. Max studied my every move as I tore the envelope open and slipped out a thin piece of paper from the bubble wrap-lined insides.

I partially unfolded the paper. It was a letter addressed to me, and as I scanned the bottom, I realized that it was from Mr. Miyamoto. He was probably thanking me for my assistance in the Nintendoverse. I read it in full:

_Dear Claude,_

_Hello. It feels good to have a home to return to, doesn't it? I will be leaving for Kyoto by plane tonight. I was supposed to be on vacation with my family but you can say that I got a little sidetracked._

I could imagine his spirited laughter as I read that line.

_Anyways, to get to my point, the manager and I evaluated your performance in the other space. The ultimate decision was left up to me, and I feel safe entrusting you with a reward. If you choose to accept this, you will be known as a Guardian. I understand that the responsibilities that come with this are quite enormous, especially from the perspective of a teenager, but your familiarity with the subject and your performance instills me with confidence that you'll be able to handle it. And you have friends to help you there as well. I wanted to talk to you about this in person, but once Derrick had his way, I knew there simply wouldn't be enough time to discuss all of the important details once you got back from the other space._

_Sincerely,_

_Shigeru Miyamoto & Clifford Lewis_

What in the world...? Other space? Responsibilities? Guardian? This letter was so cryptic. The only thing I knew for certain was that Clifford Lewis was the manager of the store, the man I had recognized for the gap in his teeth. He must have written this for Mr. Miyamoto.

I could only imagine the enigmatic nature of the letter was to throw off anyone that might have come across it that wasn't supposed to. Mr. Miyamoto was talking about the Digital World Animator Machine and the Nintendoverse. But where was this reward?

I reached over for the envelope when something thin and white slid out of an unfolded portion of the letter. I picked it up off of the beige carpet and my eyes widened. This was one of the cards Mr. Miyamoto used to get into the DWA Machine's room! My name was on its shiny surface, as well as a golden shield emblem. This was my very own card. It all added up now, and I felt silly not catching on sooner. The _prize_ may have been a one-time trip, but this card, my new status as a Guardian – that was a daily pass, my reward.

That letter understated the type of responsibilities that came with this. I had to keep order inside and outside. And that meant keeping this an absolute secret from any and everyone. I couldn't tell friends or family about my amazing adventures...not now, maybe not ever. A tough burden to bear, but well worth it.

I finally set the card down and retrieved the item from inside of the envelope. The blue phone I once had in the Nintendoverse now sat in my hand. How did it...? Well, I know how it got here, but still. It was a bit surreal seeing it in my own house, and even Max tilted his head in curiosity.

I wordlessly accepted the responsibilities. I guess I officially gained the Guardian title as a result. Fancy titles, shiny keycards...they weren't what was important. I could mull it all over, but...

There was just one detail I couldn't ignore. One simple fact kept sending electrifying waves of excitement through my body:

The journey wasn't over.

* * *

In a darkened room on the other side of the planet, a lone man's features were illuminated by a monitor embedded into his desk. On the screen, the fuzzy face of Ratchet came into view.

"Ken Watanabe has successfully been apprehended, sir."

"Good job. I want to speak with him."

Ratchet left the range of the camera and returned a minute later with Ken in shackles, who had been cackling gleefully ever since he heard that the boss wanted to speak with him. Making no attempt to hide his contempt for Ken, Ratchet nearly threw the man into the monitor.

Ken collapsed on his knees, but his crazed smile receded into a more relieved and hopeful one at the sight of his superior on the other side of the screen.

"Mr. Hirai! I was so close! The core was within reaching distance!" Ken exclaimed, suddenly feeling pressure to explain himself to his boss.

"You failed, Ken," Kazuo responded harshly, his expression unchanging.

"That is true, but this can only be a minor setback. I left some damage during my visit," Ken continued, his speech becoming rapid. "They are most likely picking up the pieces. Yes, they're completely distracted! If you send me, I can slither back into the Core Chamber and finally destroy that atrocious universe! Those Nintendummies won't even see it coming! Tee hee!"

Ratchet rolled his eyes and Clank made an audible facepalm from off screen.

"You don't seem to understand," Kaz started in a cold, slow manner. "You failed the mission. It's over."

"There has to be a Plan B!" Ken reasoned, a desperate sweat forming on his forehead.

"You _were_ Plan B! There are _consequences_ for failure."

"NO! Where is my second chance?"

"We can't risk it."

"Please, consider it! You know how close I was to completing the mission!"

Kaz leaned forward with interlaced fingers, pretending to think it over. He laughed inwardly; in truth, he had already decided Ken's fate before the discussion even began. He leaned back in his chair and smiled, signifying to Ken that he had come to a decision.

"Ratchet. Clank. Please escort Ken to the Scrambler."

Ken's face went white. His voice failed him, and he didn't even begin to fight until Ratchet had already begun to drag him away. When he snapped to life and screamed for mercy, it went unanswered. Once Kaz had enough of Ken's panicked, unintelligible screams, he pressed a button on the monitor to cut communications. The room was thrown into total darkness, but only for a few seconds. Lights flickered on from above, revealing the conference room for what it was. Kaz sat at the end of a long table, each chair filled by employees and all eyes trained intently on him.

He stood from his seat with a genuine smile and opened his arms wide as if to greet them. "Gentlemen, we are left with only one option. We must go back to Plan A!"

The conference room buzzed to life.

"Mr. Noriyuki!" Kaz called with much enthusiasm. " What is the latest technology Nintendo is working on?"

"Touch screens, motion controls, even 3D technology, sir," Mr. Noriyuki replied timidly.

"All right, I want PR decrying them immediately!" Kaz announced, pointing at nothing in particular.

"But sir, we're working on some of those as well."

Kaz sat down and rubbed his chin in thought. "Then we'll just ignore their progress and pretend that we are to thank for the technology. Make that PR extra ostentatious too! Mr. Harada, I want the R&D department working to duplicate all of their work as efficiently as possible."

Kaz leaned back in his chair and unearthed a black device from his jacket. He turned on the PSP as Mr. Harada looked on in puzzlement.

"What about you, sir?"

"I hate having to use the Scrambler on anyone," Kaz replied, engrossed in the unending loading screen. "I need to calm my nerves with a little game of Ridge Racer."

The room fell quiet and bore down on Kaz with similar bewildered stares. Was the boss really playing a game at a time like this?

"Oh come on, it's Ridge Racer! Riiiiidge Racer!"

The uncomfortable silence continued.

"Oh, all right," Kaz uttered in defeat, putting the PSP away. "If you can't beat 'em, copy 'em!'

* * *

"Yaaah!" Marth leapt into the air and made a clean swipe through the wood. The log teetered and collapsed onto the grass below. Roy looked down at the log with something verging on disdain. He was not impressed by the efficient blue slash of the Falchion.

He unsheathed his own blade and cut into the log. Flames spewed from the point of impact; the wood looked as if it had been scorched.

"Roy, we are trying to cut the wood into ample pieces," Marth said disappointedly, stepping aside as a group of yoshis hoisted the logs up and carried them away. "We are not attempting to burn the rest of this forest down."

Roy pointed at Marth. "Hey! You've got your way and I've got mine. It's all for a good cause." He threw his cape to the side in an exaggerated motion and walked towards the building site. Marth followed him with a grin. For all of Roy's theatrics, he was at least entertaining to be around.

Reconstruction of the Yoshi Village had started immediately the day after the crisis with Ken and Derrick had been dealt with. It began early in the morning with clean up and removing of the debris left behind by its initial destruction. Now construction of a wooden barrier was in the process, with Marth and Roy mostly in charge of cutting the wood. A quarter of the wall had already been completed, but the inner circle – the village, was mostly empty. That was a job for Mario.

The yoshis had always preferred to sleep outside, and any buildings the old village had were used mostly for storage. Mario had managed to convince them that houses were a good alternative, and he would be the one to actually lead the construction effort. They didn't have to sleep in them all the time, but the homes provided better immediate protection than the underground safe zone they had originally used.

Helping them get over their technophobia was another matter altogether. Samus was finding it difficult to sway them. It was a battle just to get a computer in the original village, but at least that represented a small victory. A crack in the dam means that it's not infallible.

"I wonder what they're doing?" Roy muttered, peering into the sky. It was overcast and looked as it could rain at any moment. There had even been a few moments of a light drizzle. But the weather wasn't hampering their mood; the Smash Brothers made a promise to rebuild the village, and that determination passed on to the yoshi populace.

"You're speaking of Sir Claude, are you not?" Marth inquired knowingly.

"Not just Claude, but all of the people from another universe that came here," the redhead murmured, turning his gaze back upon the building site. "It just feels weird to me. They came and went as they pleased, some of them even being responsible for this mess, and then, overnight, it's all over? Maybe it's even a little anticlimactic."

"It seems to me as if you did not want things to calm down," Marth noted. Roy grinned.

"Guess you know me too well."

"You two! Stop slacking off!" Yoshi demanded when he spotted Marth and Roy approaching. He tapped the clipboard in his arm with a pen in an agitated repetition.

Roy flicked the dino on the nose, which won him no points. "Are you going to stop 'directing' for a moment and actually lift a finger to help put everything together? This is your home too, you know."

"He does have a point," the Altean prince concurred with a nod.

"My job is important. If I stop, no one will know what to do."

Roy rolled his eyes, "I think we can manage."

"Oh look, here comes _another _slacker, several hours late no less." Yoshi squinted to see the silhouette in the distance. He could make out the hair, boots and pants, and maybe even a sword hanging around the waist. The only swordsmen he knew were already here.

"That kinda looks like...nah." Roy waved the idea off.

"I think it is!" Yoshi exclaimed, shoving the clipboard against Roy's chest plate.

"Hey guys!" Claude called, waving as Yoshi closed in on him, "guess who's ba-aaaaah!" He wasn't expecting to have the life squeezed out of him.

"Did you just hug me?" he asked with an amused grin.

Yoshi looked horrified upon realization. "No! That was your imagination!" he screamed, frantically dusting himself off.

"It didn't look like his imagination from here," Roy jeered playfully, shoving the clipboard back into Yoshi's arms.

Marth bowed gracefully. "Most excellent to see you again Sir Claude!"

"You gotta stop callin' me that," Claude told him, mimicking the bow. " It's so formal."

"As you wish, Claude."

Roy threw an arm on Claude's shoulder and they started towards the construction site. "Remember what I said about sappy goodbyes? I told everyone not to choke up. I knew you'd be back."

"Okay, sure," Claude said with a skeptical grin. "Ya'll didn't waste anytime with the reconstruction," he noted, watching the yoshis, with the help of Shyla, heave another part of the wooden barrier into place.

Yoshi blocked his path and hit him with the clipboard. "We don't have any room for slackers, so if you're not going to work then you should just go back home right now!"

Roy laughed. "First you hug him, then you tell him to go back home. Make up your mind already."

"Stop saying that! I don't hug people!"

"I'll hug you if you want!" Kirby cried happily. He ran and leapt into Claude's arms.

"Kirby! What's up?" Claude tossed Kirby in the air like a ball and caught him. "At least you don't have problems with affection."

Yoshi scowled but remained silent.

Kirby let out a childish giggle. "I'm so glad you're back! That means that I can finish showing you around...well, after we rebuild the village. You're still helping, right?"

"Of course. What do you want me to do?"

Roy jumped around, pretending to cut invisible wood as he said, "you can put that sword to good use and help us cut the wood!"

The notion didn't fill Claude with enthusiasm. "I'm not really good with a sword."

"We will assist you," Marth offered, cutting Roy off before he could boast. "But it would do well if we met back up with the others first. I am sure they will be happy to see you."

"We're taking a break for the moment," Roy mentioned, a little disgruntled with Marth. "We were going back to the reconstruction site anyway. Everybody's there."

Kirby jumped with excitement. "Ooooh, speaking of construction, guess where they found the babysitter!"

"Where?"

"Back on Corneria! He was buried under some building materials the whole time."

"What did Fox do?"

"Nothing! The guy still has the job."

"I didn't think Fox was a fan of incompetence."

"Does anyone else smell that? It smells delicious!"

"I believe lunch is ready."

"What are we waiting for? If the yoshis get to it first, there won't be any left for us!"

"Samus didn't make any of it, did she?"

"No way!"

"Then I'm already there!"

They raced one another across the damp grass of the woodlands. With their enemies defeated and their moods light, the thoughts of tournaments, the mysteries of the DWA Machine or even the return of an antagonist or two were all left behind. Now was a time of celebration and recovery, and the harshness of their universe's realities and the even more troubling events stirring in the darkness would have to wait for another day.

A day that wouldn't be too far off...

**-THE END-**

* * *

**_Stop right there! This was the final chapter, but not the final update. The next update will be some afterwords, where I'll elaborate a bit on some plot points and what I wanted to do with the story. I will also contain information on the sequel. Don't worry, KIJ5 is not far off._**


	28. Afterwords: 4th Edition

**Claude the Author's**  
**Afterwords - 4th Edition**

Starting with the end of this story, I've decided to implement Afterwords. And I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to use them for elaboration to let you, the reader, get a little bit deeper into the tale I've just woven for you.

This is fan fiction. I acknowledge that. It's not professional and I'm not promoting myself as a prize-winning author. But fan fiction is a wonderful thing because it feels more personal when I present it to you all. It's because of this medium that I'm trying these afterwords, so that those who know me, and those who don't but followed this story as I wrote and updated it, can get a slightly clearer picture of what it is I was trying to do. So I hope you stick with KIJ4 a little longer for this final 'chapter' and learn a little bit more about it in the process.

* * *

**Why I created the Digital World Animator Machine** – Everyone does it. What I'm talking about is how authors get into the world of Smash Bros in self-insertion fiction. Frequently, they either fall through mystical portals without explanation or get sucked into their consoles/TVs. This isn't even limited to just SSB, I've seen it in a lot of video game fan fiction. I explicitly decided against doing something like that for this story.

When I decided to revamp this series starting with this story, one goal I set was to make everything serve a real purpose. I was not going to be deposited into this brave new world with little or no explanation. It wasn't going to be a fluke. The DWA Machine is a real, powerful invention. And hence the title, other people can use, and abuse it. It is entirely relevant to characters both indigenous and foreign to the Nintendoverse.

But it also serves _multiple_ purposes. Its true origins are a mystery, as is how exactly it works. There are things said about it and the Nintendoverse that aren't necessarily true. You'll just have to wait until a future storyline for these details to be exposed.

**If I could go back and change one thing** – The way I handled Derrick. Looking back on the story, Derrick doesn't have enough presence. He's there early on, and there are several scenes where it's implied that he's having influence in the background, and then he escalates to Primary Antagonist in the last few chapters. I intended it this way, I just wanted to show him and flesh him out more before he overtook Ken. This leads to the next paragraph...

**The purpose of Ken Watanabe and Derrick Salvas** – Ken is not exactly sane. You can look at it as a 'what if' scenario: if the Nintendoverse were real, Ken would be the equivalent of a fanboy that went too far. In the storyline he is an employee of a rival company that doesn't believe in the spirit of a friendly rivalry. Because of his questionable mental stability, along with coaxing from superiors, he goes off to destroy the Nintendoverse. I wanted an original villain to terrorize the Smash Brothers in this installment and I wanted that to partially revolve around the DWA Machine, because not everyone is going to want to preserve a world like that when they get that kind of power over it.

Derrick Salvas was created as a direct counter antagonist to Claude the Author. With all my stories that feature self-insertion of any sort, I strive to avoid Gary Stu (Mary Sue) territory, so I always analyze what I felt made other authors' characters go in that direction. I found that commonly, in these types of stories, the author would inexplicably end up at the top of one of the major antagonist's hate lists. I never found this to be believable. It does not make any sense that a clueless teenager stumbling in from Earth would be considered a greater threat than Mario by Bowser right off the bat. Realistically, the author would be a complete nobody here, and Ganon isn't going to go out of his way to antagonize me if he doesn't know or care about me. So I created a villain with similar means to stand on equal ground against me.

Derrick did not have a bright and happy past so his pessimistic view on the world stems from that. It is why he does what he does – it's a cycle of abuse. He has had little to no control over any facet of his life and when he finds out about the Nintendoverse from Ken, he sees it as an opportunity to craft himself a new, better life. But he does this through total control and convinces himself that the end justifies the means, not really realizing or acknowledging that he's inflicting the same type of harm on the Smash Bros. as what was done to him. He comes to terms with what he did and regrets it, exiling himself before anyone else can get to him. This made him out to be more of a gray area villain versus Ken who is more of the stereotypically evil "burn it all to the ground!" destructive antagonist.

**Why is the author in this story anyway?** – I came up with some story details for KIJ4 and 5 back when I was writing the third installment years ago. What I had decided on from the very beginning was that I would insert myself into the storyline. At first this would solely be a source for humor, but then I revamped the concept for a deeper plot and that led me to create the DWA Machine to support the idea for an insertion that wasn't stereotypical in execution. I was inspired by other peoples' work. One of the first fanfics I ever read was a self-insert and to this day I still think it's one of the better ones I've encountered. I wanted to do something like that. I wanted a respectable insertion story without the Sueage. It was a fun challenge. I don't consider this part of an anti-Sue movement so much as...just a story anyone can read and enjoy.

I also admit that this situation is a bit unique. Most series start off with the insertion. There are three stories in this continuity that happen long before I ever show up in canon.

**You got your SONY in my NINTENDO** – One of the first things I decided on before writing this was the presence of Sony characters. I went with the cast of the first Wild Arms because I wanted characters that weren't overexposed. In contrast, more recognizable characters like Ratchet & Clank were used as the "ambassadors." I actually ended up playing down the Sony/Nintendo rivalry in the long run because the Smash Bros. had bigger fish to fry and the majority of the characters aren't the type to hold grudges and extend rivalries.

Some details on the sequel...

The next story in the series, the 5th to date, will be called _**Kirby's Insane Journey to Have a Decent Vacation**__**.**_ It's set a few weeks/months later and has a tropical theme. It still takes place pre-Brawl so there won't be a heavy presence of characters like Pit or Wario, but there are some tidbits in the story that lead in to some things established by Brawl. I don't want to give too much away.

The actual plot has the Smash Bros. go to Delfino Island for a well-earned weeklong vacation. As the title suggests, that won't be easy. The presence of Sonic and his friends will cause some tension and a mysterious being takes the strife to a whole new level. Like I said before, that's little cryptic but I don't want to give too much away. The atmosphere is akin to the first half of this story, in that it's a bit lighter. I guess you can consider it a bridge, because KIJ6 will be going back into some more serious territory in its plot...but I'll never ditch the humor aspect! It's deeply infused into my writing style.

See you at Kirby's Insane Journey 5!


End file.
